As stated in the rules, a comment on my blog serves not only as an entry for my prize, but as an entry for the grand prize.
KATHRYN R. BLAKE'S SPANK OR TREAT STORY:
Amanda learns the truths she'd based her safety on are little more than myths.
"What's wrong?" Marcus asked,
his brow wrinkling while the electronic devices he'd confiscated lay
innocuously in his outstretched hands.
"Do you not want them?"
"Of course, I do. But I would rather you gave them back because
you wanted me to have them, not because you generously decided to let me keep
them."
His eyebrows drew together in a full
frown. "I do not understand
the difference. In both scenarios you
are getting what you wanted. What
difference does it make as to my reason?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I know you don't understand, and
that's part of the problem."
"You shall have to teach me,
then."
Gazing into his dark eyes, Amanda
said,. "I'm not a teacher, Mr. Aularius.
I am one frightened woman, who fears she is being incredibly naïve and
stupid by staying."
His posture grew ramrod straight.
"I see." His voice sounded ten
degrees cooler.
She turned slightly, careful not to
give him her back, then faced him again.
"Okay, maybe you can understand this. Why exactly do you want me to stay?"
"Are you going to take these
from me, or not?" he asked, his voice so brittle that she was surprised
his words didn't shatter into tiny shards on their way out of his mouth.
She gazed at his angry face, and
thought, Yeah, I want them. And I want
you too, big guy, but I'm more than a little scared about what you might do to
me if I say yes. And I'm almost, not
quite, but almost equally afraid that I will be missing out on the best
night of my life if I say no. And that's
the crux of my problem. So, what are you
gonna do about it, huh?
His rigid stance relaxed after she
finished her inner tirade. "Uh oh,
Amanda," she murmured aloud.
"You should always check first to see who's on the party line
before you begin chatting about the neighbors."
When he grinned openly, she narrowed
her eyes at him. "Did you hear what
I was thinking earlier?"
"It would be difficult not to, when you broadcast your thoughts so loudly."
She didn't know whether to be
embarrassed or pissed. Deciding she'd go
with the safer emotion, she put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. "Just how am I broadcasting my thoughts
to you?"
"Amanda, take these first, will
you?" he demanded, thrusting his hands forward. "If you don't take them now, I shall confiscate
them again out of annoyance with you."
"Annoyance with me? What the F-K do you think I've done to be
annoyed with me?" When he just
stood there with a furrowed brow, holding out her pen and recorder, she lowered
her arms with an aggravated sigh.
"Fine, all right." She
started to move closer to him when an ugly suspicion formed, and she
stopped. "You're not giving me
these with any strings attached, are you?"
He frowned down at the items, then
raised his hands to glance under them.
"I do not believe so, as I do not see any strings on either of
these devices."
When she laughed, he grinned back,
so she reached for her equipment with a murmured, "Thank you." But when she attempted to remove her hands;
he closed his fingers over hers and gave a little tug, pulling her closer. She eyed him with grave reluctance, but allowed
him to draw her in until they stood less than six inches apart. "Oh, yeah,
now you want to cuddle. After our first
fight."
"Was that truly our first
fight, Amanda?"
"Sure felt like one to me."
"Yes, to me also, I
think." He hesitated, then asked,
"May I hold you now, as I have wished to do since I first saw you?"
Amanda swallowed back the lump in
her throat and nodded, offering no resistance when he drew her into his
arms. Then pulling her equipment in close
to her stomach she leaned in against his chest.
She knew it was a mistake the moment she did it, because despite all her
brave attempts to hold them back, tears began to well and fall from her eyes. He held her close for a few minutes, not
saying anything.
When she finally pulled away, he
handed her a linen handkerchief, and she laughed as she took it. "Jeesh, I
thought these went out with the dinosaurs."
Lifting one eyebrow, he said,
"I am not quite that old."
She laughed as she dabbed at her
eyes. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't put you a day past the Stone
Age."
He chuckled. "You wicked, wicked girl. I think you should be soundly thrashed for
that."
Amanda immediately drew back, taking
her pen and recorder with her.
His amused expression quickly morphed into a puzzled frown. "I said
something to upset you. What is it? Are you afraid I would actually thrash you?"
Jerking her head up, she stared at
him. "Would you?"
He was silent for a moment. "I have already told you, many times,
that I would not harm or hurt you. So
what is it you fear I would do?"
She shrugged. "Nothing. It was a stupid reaction."
"Very well. I shall add that to our list of discussion
topics for later, along with your fear of exposing your back, or having anyone
stand behind you."
Amanda felt her breath catch in her
throat at that comment. She didn't think
anyone had noticed. Closing her eyes,
she took a deep breath, then said, "I think I'd be a much happier camper if
you struck all three of those items from the record."
"We'll see. I cannot force you to answer my questions,
but I can still ask them." When she didn't reply, he asked more quietly,
"Do you wish to continue our interview?"
"Yeah. Sure.
I mean, that's why I'm here, right?
To get the scoop on you and your little weekend parties." She sat down on the rug, facing him.
He must have taken his cue from her,
since he sat in the hallway without even asking to come in. As she pulled her pad and pen out to take notes, he asked, "Is there some reason we are doing this on the
floor?"
"Well, you don't have any
chairs out there, and I thought it would be rude for me to sit on one while you
could not."
"I see. And am I sitting out
here because you do not trust me enough to let me sit in the same room with
you?"
"No. Actually, I think you'd stay within any
boundaries I set for you. It's me I'm
worried about."
"Very well, continue then."
He pointed to her recorder. She pressed the record button noting that he
neither gloated nor even looked pleased by her confession, and she had to give
him Brownie points for that. "Okay, let's see, where was I?"
"I believe you were about to
ask me about section 2C on the contract."
A small frisson went through her as she
glanced over at him. "Yeah, I
know. I sort of put that one on the list
to be discussed later as well."
"As you wish."
"Okay." She sat up straighter and gave him her best
professional look. "Can you
fly?"
His eyebrow surged up as if he was
surprised by the question, but he did not hesitate to answer. "Not like Superman or Peter Pan, but I
am able to lower myself from great heights without injury, and transport myself
from one spot to another within a blink of the eye. However, I do not believe I can actually
'fly', although I must admit it is not something I have ever attempted."
"What about the affect sunlight
has on you? Is there any truth to that
at all, or is it a complete myth?"
"Not a myth, precisely. As you gathered, I am able to stand in direct
sunlight without any ill effects.
Vampires are much more powerful at night. When the sun is up, our powers are greatly
reduced. Sometimes they disappear
entirely in younger vampires. Direct
sunlight, can burn them, if the proper precautions aren't taken."
"Okay, what sort of
precautions?"
"Much like those you mortals usually take. If a vampire who
is sensitive to sunlight needs to go outside, he should wear protective
contacts, or sunglasses, and some sort of sun cream with a respectable factor. But inside, at least for those of us who are
older, daylight poses no problem at all."
"So, how do younger vampires spend
their daylight hours, if they can't play outside?"
"Younger vampires, like
children, need their rest. So, they are
often found napping during the day."
"But, because you're older, you
don't need to 'nap,' or stay out of the sun at all."
"Yes, that is correct."
"So, that means you lied to me."
"That means I told you what I
thought would make you feel more secure.
As long as you believed I was confined to kneeling or squatting in the
shade, you considered yourself safe. I
would have maintained that illusion as long as I needed to just to have you
stay and talk with me.
"I only revealed the truth once
I realized maintaining the fiction would not benefit either one of us. That, and I was hoping you would let me hold
you, although I sincerely doubted you would permit me such liberties so
soon."
"Yeah, except I did everything
but throw myself into your arms, didn't I?
Simply putty in your hands, right?"
"You were never putty, Amanda,
and had I thought you would not be embarrassed having others witness
our embrace, you would not have been only imagining my arms about you. I can promise you that."
"Yeah. Except now I feel like a fool for believing
you about that sunlight thing."
"As I said, I would have
maintained the illusion for as long as it took, if keeping out of the sun
would have made you less afraid of me.
Just as I have not crossed your threshold, because my staying on the
other side gives you a feeling of security.
Though possibly a false one."
Amanda's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? This is my room, and unless I invite you in,
you have to remain on the other side of my door, right?"
"If it makes you more
comfortable to believe that, then I will answer yes. Though that is not necessarily the
truth."
Wiggling her behind, Amanda scooted
a little further away from him. "Okay, let me get this straight. Are you saying that the only thing keeping
you in the hall is my mistaken belief that you cannot come in?"
"Not exactly. The only thing keeping me in the hall is the knowledge
that you do not want me inside your room, yet."
Amanda shook her head. "Nuh uh.
I read about how your kind can't enter unless you're invited. That's one of the things that protects us
poor mortals against you guys."
"You speak of the myth
concerning a vampire's inability to cross the threshold of a mortal's private
dwelling. This is a hotel, not your
home, and, as I've already demonstrated, few myths of the vampire lore are
accurate." When she simply shook
her head in firm denial, he added, "I can prove it, if you wish, though I
am not at all certain my doing so will ease your mind."
She drew her knees up to her chin
and glared at him. "Maybe, if you can prove the only reason you
are currently staying on the other side of that line is out of respect for my
wishes. That isn't necessarily a bad
thing, is it?"
His voice got very soft. "No, sweetheart, I believe it is a very
good thing. It means your wishes are
much more important to me than my own."
I hope you enjoyed Amanda and Marcus's interaction, now tell me what Marcus said to cause Amanda to draw back in fear, then return to Spank or Treat's main page for more reader fun.
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