Penelope's Punishment (3 page)

Bath Time

“You’re a nob, what do you want with a low pickpocket? How come you ain’t threatening to rat me to a copper, to throw me in durbies and send me on the boat?”

“You are going to have to forgive me, love. I don’t have Smitty’s unique interest in the local vernacular,” quipped Alex. “I am guessing from context you are worried I will call the magistrate. Fairly certain the boat is a reference to the convict boats.” Alex could tell from the light of wary recognition in her eyes that he was close. “Now I must confess, ‘durbies’ has me stumped.”

With a sigh of annoyance, Pip pushed her wrists together by way of illustration.

“Handcuffs!” Alex couldn’t help feeing quiet proud of himself for deciphering the indecipherable. “Well, now that I cannot promise,” he said with a roguish wink.

Pip was not amused, crossing her arms defensively she snapped back. “I don’t need some podsnapper like you. I can take care of myself just fine.”

Alex placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head back. “I want you to listen very carefully to me, little one,” he said, capturing her gaze with the intensity of his own. “You are far from just fine. Ignoring the obvious deficiencies in your wardrobe, you are desperately in want of a hot meal and a bath. A lesser man would not have taken the time to appreciate the feminine charms laying hidden under the boyish garb.”

Alex shuddered to think on the fate that may have awaited this precious little thing had another been her mark. He did not want to scare her, but severity was needed. Leaning in close, he said harshly, “You could have been beaten or worse, then left for dead in that cold alcove. If by some miracle your identity had not been discovered, it certainly would have once you had been thrown into the gaol to be made the sport of guards.”

Alex felt a small twinge of guilt when he saw those same beautiful green eyes fill with unshed tears but he was resolved. He did not know how long she had survived on the streets with her charade, but if he saw through her disguise it was only a matter of time before someone else did as well. She needed him.

“Surely my offer of protection and care would be preferable to death from disease and misuse in a London prison?” he finished sharply.

Pip resented his high-handed tone as much as she resented the fact he was right.

Sensing her body tensing for another fight - no doubt filled with colorful language - he decided to take the situation in hand. Enough talking. Alex determined to see if she responded better to action over reason.

“It’s time for your bath. Take off your clothes.”

Pip’s cheeks flamed with humiliation. “Just cause I’m a poor dipper you think I just give my crinkum crankum away. That I’ll just open my quail-pipe and give your tallywags a tickle like some dirty puzzle
?
”

Alex grabbed her chin more forcefully this time pushing her head back to meet his stern scrutiny.

“You will learn to speak to me with a civil tongue, little one. I will have no more of your gutter ramblings. You are sorely in need of a bath, a meal and a well-deserved spanking. Not necessarily in that order. Which shall it be?” he challenged.

“Go bugger yourself,” she sneered recklessly as she pounded her small fists against his chest.

“Right.” With a determined glint to his eye, Alex grabbed her upper arm and dragged her across the room to the reclining sofa. “I see you chose the spanking first.” He sat down and placed a resisting Pip across his lap.

“Don’t you dare spank me!” Her voice shook with anger as she struggled in his grasp.

“You have needed this spanking from the very first moment I met you.”

Alex ruthlessly pulled down her britches exposing her pert, little bottom. He marveled how dark his skin looked compared to the soft paleness of hers. Gently caressing one cheek, his large hand easily engulfed the supple curve. He raised his hand to start her punishment.

The moment he made contact with her vulnerable flesh, Pip arched her back and screamed, more from the humiliation then from any real pain. As the spanking continued, she clawed at his trouser leg, her body racked with choking sobs. With each successive spank the hot stinging sensation warming her bottom increased.

“Please! Please, stop!” she begged. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Alex paid her no heed, knowing little ones were often sorry in the midst of a punishment. He watched as her creamy flesh turned a bright, cherry pink from his attentions. While it was obvious she would benefit from several hot meals, she still had the most adorable bottom, made all the more so from the blush he was putting on it.

Pip was in agony. She had never felt a man’s touch in her life and in the span of one evening this man had touched her intimately twice. When she made the mistake of trying to reach back to cover her poor flesh, he seized her wrist and pressed her arm to her lower back, moving the punishment to the lower curve of each cheek and the top of her thighs. Now her bottom felt hot and prickly, until finally it was over. The room swayed as he flipped her upright, forcing her to stand between his knees facing away from him.

“What am I looking at Penelope?”

She hiccupped as she tried to get her sobs under control. Swiping at the tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, she answered honestly. “I don’t know.”

“I’m looking at the well-punished bottom of a very naughty girl.” He placed his hand over a burning cheek for emphasis. “Now turn around.”

Pip hesitated. Her britches were still around her ankles if she turned around he would see her…all of her.

“Does someone need another spanking?”

Pip spun around so quickly she made herself dizzy and had to grab his shoulder for support. Alex looked at the juncture of her thighs. He could not resist stroking the soft, downy curls that covered her sex with the back of his finger. Pip held her breath. She was too tired and overwrought from her first punishment and the events of the evening to make sense of the confusing emotions his gentle intimate touch, after such harsh treatment, invoked.

Alex had to remind himself that what she needed was a bath and meal; there would be plenty of time later for seduction.

“Let’s get you out of these dirty garments and into a warm bath,” his tone soothing.

As if in a trance, Pip let him pull off her coat and remove her worn boots. He then pulled away the bunched britches at her ankles. Her only protection remaining was the thin shirt and her bindings.

“Arms up,” he commanded. She was so tiny he could pull the shirt over her head without rising from his seated position. He grimaced when he saw the ragged strips of linen binding her breasts. He pulled at the tucked in end and slowly, carefully, began to unwind the binding. He had to reach behind her to complete the task, and with each movement he tenderly embraced her. As the bindings loosened, Alex cursed under his breath, feeling an irrational rage as angry red welts appeared from the overly tight bindings. It was a sin to keep such perfect breasts so cruelly under wraps. They were slightly more than a handful, with a gentle slope ending with pretty pink nipples.

Pip softly whimpered. She kept her eyes averted so without the mirror to her emotions he could not know if it was from his touch or the pain of the bindings. As the final scrap of linen fell away, he noticed a large purple bruise under her left breast. He traced the outline with his fingertip. Pip hissed through her teeth, trying to mask the pain.

“Who did this to you?” His voice sounded harsh even to his ears. It was one thing to punish a naughty bottom. It was entirely different to hit or beat till a woman’s delicate flesh bruised.

“A washer woman took exception to me sleeping on her stoop,” came Pip’s whispered response. His anger confused her. It was almost as if he cared. No one had cared about Pip since her Mother’s passing. The feeling was foreign and hard to comprehend. “She kicked me awake.”

All doubts over his intentions towards her vanished. He vowed in that moment she would never know another day of hunger or cold. In his arms, she would be safe. He knew it would require a great deal of discipline and training to control her wild ways, but she would be worth it.
They
would be worth it.

He stood and Pip took a step back in fear. His height intimidated her, and she was still bewildered by his rapidly changing mood. He placed an arm behind her knees and picked her up. Cradling her in his arms, he strode across the room to the bathing chamber.

Pip had never seen anything like it. It was an entire room dedicated to bathing. She had heard that some of the finer homes had pipes that brought hot and cold water right into the home, but didn’t believe it. There was a massive marble tub filled to the brim with steaming water. A long table against the far wall was topped with fluffy linens, soaps and fragrant oils. It even had a small fireplace to heat the room. Alex knelt in front of the tub and carefully lowered her into the water.

There was a quick sting as the warm water hit her still sore bottom but it was fast forgotten as she sunk shoulder deep into the soothing heat. The best she had ever experienced was a lukewarm hip bath, and that was long ago.

Pip closed her eyes and savored the feeling of warmth. She inhaled the sweet, floral scent of the water. Her eyes were still closed when she felt the soft brush of a cloth over her breast.

“What are you doing?” she gasped, trying to shield her breasts from his touch.

“Hush. I’m bathing you. Now lie back and do not fuss. I will not hesitate to snatch you out of that bath and give you another spanking on your wet bottom,” he warned.

Cautiously she leaned back, but kept her eyes on him, taking in his rolled up sleeves exposing heavily muscled arms with a slight dusting of dark hair. His hands were large. They looked strong and masculine. Pip shivered despite the heat of the water.

Alex tenderly stroked the soapy cloth over each breast, careful to avoid the red lashes left by the bindings.  The harsh marks cooled his ardor and brought out the protector in him. “Do the welts bother you?”

“You get used to it,” she whispered, unwilling to admit to him how much her boyish attire hurt her both physically and emotionally.

He continued to bathe her, lightly brushing down each arm and making broad calming circles on her back. So as not to alarm her, he then started at her feet. He slowly moved the cloth over her ankles and calves, occasionally letting his fingertips touch her skin. Without conscience thought, Pip’s eyes closed as she leaned back. Lulled into a calm, drowsy state, she barely murmured when the cloth brushed the juncture of her thighs. Alex lightly caressed her through the cloth till her legs parted further on their own accord.

Dropping the cloth, he pushed his thumb through her soft folds till it grazed her clit. Her full pink lips opened on a gasp, but her eyes remained closed. Watching as a deeper flush appeared on her cheeks and the dark fan of her eyelashes flickered with each light movement, he swirled his thumb around her clit, applying the slightest pressure on each downward stroke. When he saw her pink nipples peak above the water with her faster breathing, he increased the rhythm, knowing she was close. When her hand reached out to grasp his forearm, he knew she was there. He plunged two fingers deep into her cunny, relishing not only in her tight, clenching passage but in the irrefutable evidence of her maidenhood. He was never letting her go, he thought with a smile.

Light-headed and spent, Pip raised confused eyes to Alex. Using the same thumb that had just brought her such great pleasure, he gently caressed her full bottom lip.

“That is a taste of the pleasure that can be found under my care, Kitten.”

Still caught in his sensual haze, she asked “Why do you insist on calling me ‘Kitten’ and ‘little one’? My name is Pip.”

“I call you Kitten,” he answered as he prepared to wash her hair, “because you have the large beautiful eyes of a kitten, full of curiosity and mischief.” He lathered her chin-length, curly locks with lavender soap, massaging her scalp. “I shall never call you Pip,” he added with perhaps more force than was necessary. “Pip is a boy’s name. The name of a street thief. You are now my Penelope. My cute, little Kitten.” He rinsed her hair and then bade her to stand. Wrapping her in a large blanket that had been warmed by the fire, Alex carried her back into his chamber.

There was a large plush chair by a small table in front of the fire. Alex sat in the chair and settled her on his lap. She was swaddled in the blanket with her arms at her sides. “The fire will dry your hair so you do not catch a chill,” he said.

Penelope felt an unwanted rush of emotion. Against all rational reason, she felt safe in his arms.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Smither entered with a heavily laden tray, which he placed on the table by Alex.

“Well done, Smitty,” beamed Alex. “You didn’t have to bring it up yourself. One of the maids would have been fine.”

Smither cleared his throat and sent his lordship a meaningful look. “As I mentioned, they are presently tied up. It was no trouble at all, my lord. If that will be all?”

“Yes, Smitty. Go and enjoy what is left of your evening.”

After the butler departed, Alex uncovered the various dishes. Penelope could not prevent her stomach from grumbling as she took in all the glorious sights and smells.