Walking After Midnight

Michelle closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp autumn air as she rose from her stretches. Smiling to herself, she stepped onto the pavement and began jogging slowly. After five minutes, Michelle pushed her speed up to a run.

How had she gone so long without running at night? The thought flitted through her mind and the answer was quick to follow. Steve. Her detective boyfriend of the last six months had put his foot down when he found her sneaking into the park for her daily runs. So Michelle had (reluctantly, after much arguing on the point) agreed to only run during the day.

But this evening, Steve had been called to a rather vicious crime scene, leaving Michelle to worry at home. An hour after he had slipped from the bed, Michelle had decided that she'd simply go crazy waiting for him to come home and she knew she'd never be able to sleep with the thoughts racing through her head. After a short debate, she had decided to go for a late night run to clear her mind.

Michelle nearly laughed out loud as Patsy Cline began crooning "Walking After Midnight" through her earphones. She was certainly out "walking" after midnight but she definitely wasn't searching for her lover! Michelle could only imagine what Steve would have to say if he caught her running after dark again. She giggled to herself as she recalled that his exact words had been "I promise you the spanking of your life if you go out running in the dark again". Michelle didn't believe he'd actually spank her (who does that kind of thing to their girlfriend?) but the threat had finally convinced her that he truly worried about her getting into some kind of trouble.

Just then, a shadow stepped onto the pavement and before she could bring herself to a stop, Michelle crashed into the large figure. As she drew breath to scream, a hand was clamped over her mouth and she was lifted off her feet. Michelle began to panic as the figure carried her to a bench. She fought viciously, but the figure's grip was unbreakable. Suddenly a familiar scent caught her attention and Michelle stopped fighting. Turning her head as much as she could, Michelle could make out Steve's features in the moonlight.

Steve glanced down when she stopped fighting. Standing by the bench, he set her on her feet and released her mouth. Michelle wrapped her arms around his neck and took a shaky breath.

"Thank God it's only you! I thought for sure...", Michelle trailed off and pulled away, frowning up at him. "What the hell was that all about? Were you trying to scare me to death?!"

Steve glared down at her. "Actually, yes, I was." At Michelle's shocked stare, Steve shook his head. "Obviously you didn't learn anything from my previous warnings, so I thought a more physical example would help you understand my point."

Michelle blushed and looked at the ground. Steve had certainly made his point clear and she told him so, softly. "I'm sorry...I never thought anything would happen to me in the park."

Steve closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. "Michelle, do you realize that the crime scene I was in the middle of investigating is on the park grounds?"

Michelle looked up, startled. Steve was a homicide detective, but he couldn't mean...

Steve saw the question in her eyes. "Yes, here. A woman in her late twenties, raped and murdered on the other side of the park." A part of Steve shied away from being so blunt with her, and wanted to spare her the details of his work, but the rest of him realized she simply didn't understand the danger she had put herself in.

Michelle shivered and pressed herself to Steve. "I swear I'll never go running after dark again. I really didn't see the danger until now."

Steve sighed. "I wish it were that simply baby." Michelle lifted her head and looked up at him, confused. "I believe I made a promise the last time we discussed this, and I intend to keep that promise."

Michelle stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't possible mean...

Steve sat on the bench and tugged Michelle over his lap. Off balance, Michelle found herself tumbling to lay across his thighs, one arm wrapped around her waist. When she felt her shorts and panties being tugged down, she struggled against his hold.

"Steve, no! You can't spank me!" she cried.

"Oh, I beg to differ baby. I most certainly can." With that statement, his hand connected with her bare bottom with a loud SMACK! Michelle squealed at the sudden sting, and her struggles increased. Steve seemed undeterred by her squirming as his hand unerringly connected time after time with her bottom.

Michelle could hardly believe the burning in her bottom. Every smack added a new sting and deepened the painful burn. Time after time his hand connected with her backside; Michelle thought to herself she'd never sit again with such pain. She cried out with every spank and as the heat built, she began promising to never misbehave again. Suddenly, Steve stopped and she sighed with relief.

Steve pulled her shorts back into position and helped her to stand. "Go stand next to that lamp post, I'll be over in a minute".

Confused, Michelle walked towards the soft pool of light, rubbing her backside as she went. Once under the light, Michelle tugged her shorts down a bit and craned her neck around to check out the damage to her bottom. To her surprise, it didn't look nearly as badly as it felt. A few minutes later, she spotted Steve making his way toward her holding...sticks? Michelle was confused, campfires were illegal in public parks. She told Steve exactly that when he reached the circle of light.

"Campfires?" he asked in confusion.

"The sticks. What are you gathering kindling for?"

Steve couldn't help it; he let out a roar of laughter. Michelle frowned. "What is so funny?" she demanded angrily.

"Baby, the only fire these switches are going to light is the fire on your bottom," Steve informed her.

Michelle's mouth fell open. "What? You can't beat me with a stick!" Panicked tears welled up in her eyes at the thought.

Steve immediately sobered. "I'm not going to 'beat' you with anything. What I'm going to do, is give you a well deserved switching. Look, these are very thin and flexible. They won't do any real damage, but I can promise you they'll make quite an impression."

Michelle pouted and crossed her arms. "But you just spanked me!" she protested.

"That wasn't a spanking. That was a warm-up." Ignoring her stuttered protests, Steve turned her to face the lamp post. "Put your hands on the post," he instructed. When she hesitated, Steve landed two sharp swats to the bare backs of her thighs.

Michelle squealed at the sting. "Ok, ok!!" she gasped and immediately gripped the post.

"Put your feet shoulder width apart," Steve instructed, pleased when she complied with little hesitation. Once she was in the desired position, he once more pulled her shorts to her knees.

"Since this is your first switching, I'm only going to give you a dozen," Steve informed her. "But, if this ever happens again, this switching will seem like a walk in the park." Steve grinned at his own pun, but was sure Michelle didn't appreciate the humor at the moment. Sighing a little, Steve place a hand on the small of her back and swung the switch at her bottom. Michelle screamed and her hands flew back to her backside.

"Michelle. I need you to stay where I put you, OK? I know it's hard, but we need to finish this," Steve admonished gently.

Crying now, Michelle nodded weakly and returned to her position. With each stroke of the switch, she fought the urge to jump away and soothe her bottom. When the twelfth stroke fell, Michelle was sobbing into her arm, fingers clutching the post. Dropping the switch, Stever gathered into his arms, rocking her gently and rubbing her back soothingly.

As her sobs quieted, Michelle realized that she had never felt so...content and safe in her life. Puzzled, she tried to make sense of the thought then realized that none of her previous boyfriends had cared enough about what she did to make sure she was safe and cared for. The knowledge that someone finally did warmed her heart more thoroughly than Steve had just warmed her bottom. Smiling, Michelle tipped her face up and pressed a kissed lightly to his lips.

Surprised, Steve returned the kiss then whispered,"What was that for?"

"For caring," Michelle replied softly, kissing him again.