She squeezed her eyes shut as Nathaniel wrenched down her trousers, exposing her buttocks to the cool air.
“I love you,” he said.
Kira tried to block his words out as fresh, soundless tears flowed down her face and dripped from her chin onto the mud. She faced ahead so he wouldn’t see.
“Kira—”
“Just do it,” she sniffed. “Get it over with. Punish me.”
Another teardrop fell, but this time, she felt it on the back of her neck.
Was he crying?
She craned around just in time to see Nathaniel lean back and wipe his eyes with the back of his hand.
As their eyes met, his expression grew cold. “Face ahead, slut.”
Kira winced and did as she was told, her body tense with anticipation as she waited for the punishment to begin.
She did not have to wait long.
Smack.
Searing hot pain emanated where his palm struck her bottom, making her feel like a naughty child. It was degrading, humiliating, and—
Smack.
It hurt, but paradoxically, it turned her on, making her feel hot and flushed. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it did. Something about Nathaniel taking charge, about assuming control so she didn’t have to think or worry, was—
Smack.
She gasped. Liberating.
Smack.
This time, the slap was harder than the others, and she cried out.
“Quiet,” Nathaniel warned, but his hands were gentle as they kneaded her ass cheeks, creating pleasure where there had been pain. “A good slut knows how to take her punishment in silence.”
“Y-yes sir.”
Smack.
Another hard, cruel hit that stung. It took effort not to cry out.
Nathaniel let out a low moan, as if he were enjoying the effect he was having on her. She imagined his erection and could feel it pressed into her backside, threatening to burst free from his trousers.
The slaps rang loud in the forest as he spanked her ass, making her flinch each time his open hand slapped the sensitive skin. After the first ten strikes, she lost count.
She tried to relax as physical pain rolled through her, washing away the last of her emotions as she receded into an empty, dark place in her mind that was peaceful, and where she felt nothing but a warm, dull ache.
It was cathartic, and she needed it. To escape from everything else, from all thoughts and responsibilities. Being disciplined by Nathaniel was intimate in a way that nothing else was, and she trusted him not to hurt her more than was necessary.
He was panting by the time he finished spanking her.
“Good…slut,” he hissed.
Kira lifted her head wearily. Her hair was streaked with mud, her body covered with it. She tried to prop herself onto her elbows, but Nathaniel did not let her get up. Instead, his hand was hard against her back as he kept her face down on the ground. He climbed back over her and kissed the side of her neck, nuzzling her as if he were her partner.