Eyes of Dominance

“Robin, do you need a spanking?”

“The Question” never failed to stop her in her tracks and snap her from her thoughts. She quickly glanced back and forth to see if anyone else heard her boyfriend’s pointed inquiry, but the rest of the familial gathering was well out of earshot from her secluded spot near the fence. She glanced at him as he stepped next to her and turned back towards the party.

“Anthony…” she whined, her voice low to avoid attention.

“I believe I asked you a question” he stated plainly, leaning against the nearby wooden post casually watching the festivities as if he had not uttered those words. 

“Babe, I’m sorry, but can we not today?” she complained. “Its way too fucking hot… you know I can’t handle this many people, and I never really wanted to come in the first place.” 

His faint smile tightened for a moment without turning to face her. “I don’t believe I asked you for an explanation. I asked a yes or no question.”

She grimaced at the sadistic choice laid before her, as it had been so many times before. She was aware of her less than stellar attitude, much as she hated to admit it, but was hoping that it could slide under the radar by the grace of her boyfriend’s sympathy. That was not the case.

She squirmed in place, the answer unfortunately clear. Her sour mood was not likely to dissipate any time soon naturally, and it was better to get it over with sooner rather than earn a much more severe punishment later that night.

“…yes, sir” she grumbled, embarrassment assailing her pride from every angle.

Anthony nodded, seemingly unfazed. “Alright then. Go to the guest room, pull down your pants, and stand in the far corner. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Robin’s stomach flipped at the command. Here? Wasn’t there people in the living room just down the hall? Still, she wasn’t about to argue with him out in the backyard where most of the party was.

She took a deep breath and strode across the yard with even, confident steps, trying to quell the butterflies in her chest. Her worry that anyone was closely paying attention was likely unfounded; the dozen or so attendants were wrapped up in their own activities and discussions. Still, her journey to the house felt like a public walk of penance as she circumvented the badminton net and quickly passed by the food tables filled with Fourth of July staples.

In through the back door of the house Robin quickly shuffled past the four women at the threshold of the kitchen and living room and walked down the hall to the familiar guest room. It was where she and Anthony would spend the night whenever they visited his parents normally, and was quite secluded, though less than she would have hoped given the group close by. She passed by the nearby bathroom and quickly slipped into the guest room, closing the door silently behind her. 

With a self pitying groan, she padded over toward the far corner of the small room opposite the foot of the bed, and slowly drew her shorts down her thighs. Her panties quickly followed; Robin knew better than to expect them to stay in place. An intense wave of humiliation crashed against her as she sighed and leaned forward, her nose nestling neatly in the junction of the soft beige walls. It was not the first time she had found herself in this position, nor did she surmise it would be the last.

Robin was an irritable person by nature, who had an unfortunate difficulty dealing with her frustrations in a productive fashion. No matter how many coping mechanisms she employed, her penchant for annoyance had the tendency to bleed into her interactions with others, sometimes unknowingly. As a cute blond with a dazzling smile and skill at hiding her barbs in jokes she often got away with her indiscretions until, eventually, they inevitably built up enough to blow up in her face. Therapy had assisted with her emotional regulation, but she was more prone to slip ups than she had liked.

It was after one such explosive incident with her boyfriend Anthony that he had suggested corporal punishment as a deterrent. Immediate consequences for her behavior could help curtail her worst impulses when angry, he had reasoned. The couple were hardly prudes in the bedroom; that’s where Anthony had gotten the idea from. As such, Robin had thought at the time that it would be a slightly more serious extension of their existing late night activities. All things considered it didn’t seem like the worst price to pay for her mistakes. And she didn’t want to lose Anthony to an uncontrolled outburst like she had partners before, so she agreed to allow him to punish her for misbehavior or unchecked attitude.

And it had worked, at least mostly. Physically tangible consequences for her actions were something that stuck in her head far more than her other de-escalation tactics. Though she hardly enjoyed getting her tail blistered for real, it helped calm and ground her in the aftermath. She felt closer to Anthony than ever before, though she would never admit to the spankings being a driving factor.

Still, slip ups were inevitable, and her irritable nature often blinded her to her own attitude until it was too late. Once something had caught her ire, she could hardly focus on anything else. So Anthony began to ask her what she had dubbed “The Question” any time her behavior teetered close to the line of unacceptability.

“Do you need a spanking?”

How Robin hated that sentence. How demeaning was it to be the arbiter of your own need for discipline? And yet, it proved effective in making her question her actions leading up to the question. Reflecting on her behavior was quite humbling, but it made her consider how she was projecting her feelings onto others in a more objective sense.

She could always say “no,” and had done so numerous times at the outset of their new arrangement. But an answer in the negative carried with it a promise, and implicit threat. Anthony was ultimately the decider of whether or not Robin needed a spanking. About half of her punishments were given without her input on the matter when she had egregiously crossed the line. “The Question” was his way of informing her that she was past walking on thin ice, and instead practically trampolining on it. It was a warning as much as an inquiry.

Answering no to “The Question” meant that she was promising that the offending behavior would be self corrected immediately. Should she slip up at any point afterwards, the resulting punishment would be far more severe than accepting it in the first place would be, in addition to the loss of privileges for lying. Though she had managed to avoid a follow up punishment on a few occasions, the risk was often not worth it given her track record. Better to swallow her pride and accept the milder spanking than run the risk of landing herself a much stricter punishment later. 

Though part of her found it difficult to accept in today’s case. She already had a hard early day at work, and didn’t really want to go to the Fourth of July party at Anthony’s parent’s house afterwards. He had offered to go without her, but she didn’t want to come across as standoffish by snubbing the invitation, and she didn’t want to make Anthony feel bad for going alone. It was the only time his family got together outside of Christmas, and he had spent less and less time with them as their relationship had deepened across the years. 

But she had started to regret her decision almost immediately. There were more attendees than last year; distant cousins, aunts and uncles, new partners, and kids filled out what was usually a more close knit gathering. Anthony had dutifully set his sensory issues aside and did his best to mingle, but Robin’s existing exhaustion had already frayed her nerves. She had initially begrudgingly entered the darts tournament for something to do, but losing to Anthony’s 14 year old nephew so emphatically stung her competitive spirit more than was perhaps appropriate, so she declined to participate in the other activities.

She had found an unoccupied chair and had dragged it to the side of the fence, in the shade away from the sweltering afternoon sun. Anthony had suggested that she could relax in the living room in the air conditioning, but a group of his aunts had gathered inside and were busy discussing the politics of their campground community, a discussion she distinctly wanted no parts of. So she sat isolated from the rest of the party, observing the happy participants and wishing she had stayed home. Some of the immediate family that she knew well came over to periodically make small talk, but Robin’s replies grew shorter and more disinterested as her mood plummeted. Eventually she was alone.

Anthony had admittedly tried to be a good boyfriend by checking in at regular intervals and trying to keep her company as best he could, but each time he joined her side was a reminder that he was the reason she was sitting out in the hot muggy July atmosphere and not in her cool bed snuggled with a book, and her self pitying annoyance had found a target. 

Her composure had finally snapped when Anthony had come over once again and asked if she wanted to leave early. Though it was the very thing she had been thinking about for over an hour, the very suggestion felt like an accusation on his part, as if he was admonishing her for not enjoying the party.  Was she such a drain on his enjoyment that he no longer wanted to be here either? Wasn’t she suffering this for his sake?

So she had made the mistake of answering with spite. 

“No, I’m good. You go spend time with the people that actually matter to you. I’ll still be here when you’re done; after all I’ve got nothing better to do.”

Anthony was tensely quiet for a moment, and then quickly excused himself. Guilt immediately flickered in Robin’s stomach, but she was too tired, sweaty, and aggravated to apologize. She optimistically had thought that her comment would afford her some alone time to soothe herself, but Anthony had unexpectedly returned to her side after a few minutes and asked her “The Question.”

She sighed nervously again, the warm air wisping across her face after colliding with the corner. This was not the first time her nose had been in this specific corner, nor was this the most embarrassing situation she had ever found herself in waiting for punishment. And yet this was still a uniquely humiliating experience. She could hear someone laughing down the hall in the living room, and wondered what the rest of the attendees would think knowing that she was standing here as a 33 year old woman waiting to be spanked like a naughty girl. If anyone heard, surely word would spread quickly through the family, and she’d never live it down…

The door opened and quickly shut behind her. Though she knew she was not supposed to move whatsoever, she stole a quick glance behind her to check it was not an unsuspecting guest. Anthony was facing away from her, ruffling through a small, familiar handbag. As his shoulders started to turn, she snapped her head back towards the wall. A long pause enveloped the room. Finally he spoke and broke the suffocating silence.

“Step out of your bottoms, and get on your elbows and knees at the edge of the bed.”

Any long shot lingering hope that she might get by with just a warning crumbled away. Robin’s head swam as she quickly freed herself from the bunched clothing at her ankles, then turned and shuffled towards her boyfriend. She climbed up onto the mattress and lowered herself onto her elbows, jutting her naked rear outwards towards him. She felt his hand on her left cheek, caressing and gently kneading the flesh. If it was meant to calm her nerves, it was not working.

“Robin, why do you need this spanking?” she heard him ask softly behind her. 

Her face flamed red as her simmering anger briefly returned. As she was technically admitting she needed discipline, she was expected to offer the reason she needed to be spanked. It was almost more mortifying than the actual punishment, and she often had to be coaxed into providing the “correct” answer as her pride attempted to shield her ego from the truth of her behavior.

“I couldn’t be the perfect girlfriend for you in front of your family” she muttered dejectedly. She knew that answer wouldn’t fly, but she couldn’t help but feel deep down that was the crux of the issue.

Anthony’s hand continued to rub her bottom. “I have never asked perfection of you. Nor do I want you to perform a role for the sake of my family. I don’t think that’s the reason.”

“Isn’t it?” she snapped back. “I’m tired, overheated, and just want to go home. I’m sorry I was rude to you and the others, but I don’t know what else you want from me. I can’t pretend to be happy all the time.”

“I didn’t ask you to” he countered. “Your feelings are not the problem here. I’m not especially giddy to be here either, I can’t blame you for that. But I do feel you did touch upon the main reason we’re here, though for different reasons than you probably think.”

“… I was rude to everyone” she conceded, feeling her head slink down to the mattress.

“It’s not really that you were rude; it’s that you were intentionally hurtful. Not being particularly chatty isn’t a bad thing. At most, other people can see that you’re tired. But your statement that ‘I should spend time with the people that actually matter’ was born from a desire to hurt my feelings and nothing more. Which is more hurtful considering that I’ve done what I can to check in and make sure you’re okay. I even offered to take you home, the thing you supposedly wanted. Your vindictive instinct is the issue at hand here.”

Robin held her tongue. He was right, even if she didn’t want to admit it. She wanted him to feel the same irritation with her that she felt towards this party, so that maybe he understood her emotional state. Even if she felt justified in her annoyance and attitude, she lashed out without cause.

“… I’m sorry” she breathed into the mattress. Even if she still carried fire in her heart, she knew it was right to make amends, even at the cost of her dignity.

“I know” he said. “And I don’t hold it against you. But that doesn’t mean you are above needing correction. And you know that.”

“Yes, sir” she conceded.

She heard him turn back around and ruffle through the small travel bag, the bag stashed under the driver’s seat in his car for situations like this.

“Do you want the ruler or the loop?” he asked.

Robin’s heart dropped. On one hand, she knew that this was his small mercy to her; she ordinarily had no say in the manner of her discipline. On the other, neither option was particularly appealing. He was giving her the opportunity to choose between secrecy and severity. 

The ruler was the less painful of the two options. Though it was reinforced and thick enough not to snap after being rigorously applied to a naughty bottom, it still was thin compared to a paddle or hairbrush, nor did it have the same sting as the belt or a cane. But while it was on the quieter side compared to some implements, it was not silent by any means. There was a non-zero chance someone on the way to the restroom would overhear the punishment.

The loop, by comparison, was damn near silent. Fashioned from an old USB cellphone charger with the ends wrapped together with a makeshift handle of duct tape, it was made for situations just like this where discretion was needed. But the unique whipping sensation made it one of the more feared tools in his arsenal. Robin almost preferred the deep thud of the paddle to the intense cutting sting that the loop could inflict. And with the effects being short lived and surface level, whippings with the loop could last as long as Anthony deemed necessary, making such sessions stick more vividly in her mind.

Still, she was not going to risk being discovered, even if it was more painful.

“The loop, sir” she grumbled.

He did not respond, but she could almost feel his habitual nod behind her. She heard him step up behind her, and braced herself.

A faint whistling hit her ears a split second before searing hot pain cut across her bare backside. She bit down on her tongue and whimpered as Anthony started to administer her punishment. The makeshift implement quickly left uneven streaks of agony on the canvas of her ass as it arced back and forth through the air. Robin clasped her hands over her head and tried to endure the spanking stoically, but the unpredictable trajectory made it near impossible to anticipate where the stroke would fall, catching her off guard with each scorching impact.

As she fought to keep her composure, she heard footsteps through the door heading towards the nearby restroom. If Anthony noticed, he didn’t care, beginning to ramp up the intensity of the punishment. Involuntary gasps and grunts began to slip from her mouth, and Robin forced her face into the comforter, trying to smother the embarrassing noises emanating from her. She kicked and fluttered her feet in an effort to throw off the pain, but knew better than to try to move her butt out of the way, risking the loop striking somewhere unintended.

Anthony was silent as he continued to whip her ass, the strokes drifting down to her sit spots. The lack of lecture made sense; he was attempting to discrete, and they had already discussed everything of importance. But his silence left her nothing else to focus on but the pain. Again and again the rubber cord struck the meat of her ass. A particularly hard stroke fell upon her sensitive upper thighs, and she bit down on the blanket and desperately tried not to cry out. 

Still the punishment continued. Robin had only a second of reprieve as he switched sides before beginning anew from the opposite angle. Her face burned as she could feel her eyes growing heavy, her yelps of pain growing louder in her ears, perhaps enough to carry past the door. She silently pleaded in her head for the spanking to end before she truly embarrassed herself. Miraculously, as if some divine force was listening, the swats ceased and the punishment came to an abrupt end.

Not breaking position, she sneaked a bleary eyed glance at the bedside digital clock. Only four minutes had passed, likely two for each side. Shorter than her average hand spanking, but no less uncomfortable. She could feel the crisscrossing lines of fire spread across her ass throbbing with her heartbeat. The marks would quickly fade, and the pain soon after, but that was no great comfort to her at the moment. 

She could still hear Anthony moving around out of view. She knew better than to move before being told. But she couldn’t help but feel self conscious about her current position. With the sentence carried out, there was no more anticipation to distract her from the utterly humbling position she was in. And yet she was dimly aware of the traitorous smoldering arousal gathered at her center, the visual evidence of which would be clearly visible to anyone behind her.   

Her self consciousness started to give way to confusion as she continued to hold her position. Anthony had not spoken since the start of the punishment, and had not yet given her permission to stand. She could still hear his movements behind her. What was he up to, admiring the view? There were certainly much better opportunities to do so. She wracked her brain for an explanation until the soft snap of latex made things crystal clear. Her head fell defeated to the mattress as a whine of protest escaped her lips. But her boyfriend paid her no mind as she suddenly felt his gloved hand on her rear, capsaicin cream coating his fingers.

He meticulously spread the cool cream across her stinging bottom. If Robin didn’t know any better, she would consider it a mercy. But she knew well enough the agony that awaited her once the cream absorbed and began to take effect. The surface level sting of the loop would fade soon enough, but the capsaicin would ensure that her bottom would be burning for the foreseeable future. Still, she couldn’t help but welcome the brief relief that it provided. 

Once her entire ass was coated with the solution, Anthony started to rub it in, eliciting winces from Robin as his fingers massaged the freshly spanked flesh. She could feel the protective latex glove starting to stick to the moisturized skin, only a thin layer of residue left in his wake. His hand pulled away for a brief moment, and she wondered whether he was finished. Her curiosity was quickly answered when his fingers returned, pushing a small bead of cream against her anus. Robin bit down on her tongue as he slowly massaged the ring of muscle, trying to remind herself that this was punishment. She certainly wouldn’t be able to forget in a few minutes. Once he was satisfied, his fingers retreated, and she heard the snap of latex again as he disposed of the glove.

“You can turn and face me” he finally spoke, the first words since the punishment had began.

Robin bit the inside of her cheek. She really didn’t want to look him in the eye at the moment. No matter how many times she was punished, the embarrassment quickly moved to swallow her whole in the aftermath. But she forced herself to turn towards him, resting on her hip. Sitting didn’t seem like a good idea at the moment. 

Anthony watched her with sympathetic eyes, but kept a stern expression.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to do that.  But I think we can both agree with was deserved, wasn’t it?”

Her cheeks turned scarlet as she looked away from his questioning gaze, her eyes locked on the nearby nightstand.

“Yes sir.”

“Just because we’re having a bad time doesn’t mean we have to make it worse for others with intentionally hurtful comments, right?”

“…no, sir” she grumbled unenthusiastically. She hated being lectured, but Anthony would say it’s often only time he has her undivided attention. She couldn’t deny that she was more receptive to his words when her pride was temporarily stripped back.

“That’s good to hear. Because this was just a wake up call. If I need to, I have no problem bringing you back in here and giving you a proper spanking.” 

He pulled his shirt up, flashing the thick black leather belt looped through his jeans. 

“If that happens, I will be using this, with no concern for who overhears. Is that clear?”

She tried to hide the shiver that ran through her spine. Part of her wondered if he’d follow through with the threat, but she would never risk finding out. 

“Yes sir.”

He gave her a reassuring smile, and Robin’s guilt doubled in her chest. Though she was none too pleased with what he just did to her, she couldn’t help but feel bad about her words earlier. She knew just how much he cared for her, and she couldn’t help but think about how bad she would feel if he had said what she did to her. Her aggravation started to slip away. If only she could have reigned herself in earlier…

“Now I don’t want to stay much longer,” Anthony said, shaking her from her thoughts. “People will be starting to funnel out soon. I want to spend a bit more time with my parents and siblings now that the herd is thinning, maybe an hour at most. You are free to relax in here if you want; I’ll just tell people that you aren’t feeling the best. Or you can come back out if you’re up to it. I just want you to feel comfortable.”

Robin nodded, not sure how to respond. She didn’t particularly want to head back out to the party, especially after the spanking she just received. But her only form of entertainment here was her phone, already on low battery from a day of activity.

Anthony turned away and quickly retreated through the door, making sure to close it swiftly to maintain her privacy. Robin quickly got up from her spot on the bed and locked it, making sure she’d have no unassuming intruders. Then she shuffled over to the mirror hanging over the dresser on the far wall to inspect her rear.

Thin stripes of red intersected across both cheeks, uneven in their distribution. They had already begun to fade, the lingering traces in no way representative of the pain she felt in their application. Though even that was beginning to abate bit by bit. In its place, the itchy burning of the capsaicin cream was beginning to take effect. She squirmed in place. That discomfort would take much longer to disappear, and it had barely gotten started.

Flopping face first back onto the bed, she considered her options. The guest room was far more comfortable than the muggy backyard, and she wouldn’t have to face anyone else after her shameful punishment. But aside from scrolling social media, there was little else to do to pass the time in here. She briefly considered taking a nap, but the gradually building heat of the cream applied to her rear would make that difficult at best. Still, at least she could suffer her discomfort alone.

She laid there for five minutes before the her burning ass made the decision for her. Sitting here in silence gave no distraction from the effects of the cream, and a small part of her wanted to try again for Anthony. It was the least she could do after her behavior earlier. She slowly put back on her pants and underwear, grimacing as the fabric brushed against the lingering marks of her punishment. Then she quietly crept to the door and listened. The voices from the living room had disappeared; they had either left for home or took their discussion to the yard. Robin prayed for the former as she slowly opened the door and tiptoed down the hall.

The house was empty, and through the windows she could see that the party had indeed thinned slightly in her absence. Mustering as much poise as she could manage, she opened the sliding glass door and walked over to where Anthony was talking with his sister. 

Her boyfriend gave her a smile and one armed hug as she joined his side. The sweltering heat had not abated, but Robin pushed her thoughts of it aside. The heat of the air had nothing on the cream coating her ass, she reasoned. As she made small talk with his sibling, she internally tried to formulate a proper apology for Anthony. She knew it would be a long drive home, and she wanted to relieve the tension sooner rather than later. Part of her still felt irritable after everything she went through today, but she promised herself that she would be on her best behavior for the rest of the day, if not for his sake then for hers.

After all, she didn’t have to be asked “The Question” again to know that no attitude was worth a repeat trip to the guest room.