Nosy by Nature Read online

  Daphne squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a loud yelp after each and every spank. God, she’d never had a spanking like this. She was sure she’d been spanked harder before, but for some reason, this spanking seemed to sting more. Her poor ass felt like it was on fire!

  But there was something else that made this spanking different besides the fact that he hadn’t given her any warm-up. For the first time, Zak was the one completely in control of the spanking, not her, and she had no idea how long he was going to continue. That thought made her squirm even more.

  No matter how much she kicked and squirmed and pleaded with him, though Zak didn’t stop spanking her. She’d known he wouldn’t. Not until he had decided she’d been punished enough. In his mind, this spanking wasn’t about sexual enjoyment, but making sure she was going to stop her snooping, and he would continue until he thought she had learned her lesson.

  That didn’t stop her from begging, though. “Honey, please...Owwwww!...I’ll be good...Owwwww!...I p-promise never t-to...Owwwww!...to d-do it again!...Owwwww!”

  At that moment, her bottom was on such fire that Daphne would have promised him anything if it would get Zak to stop spanking her.

  Then finally, after another series of hard smacks, it was over.

  Daphne stayed draped over her husband’s knee, not only because she knew he expected it, but also because she didn’t think she could have gotten up if she wanted to. Ouch, that spanking had stung. She could only imagine how red her bottom must be. Not that she hadn’t deserved it, she supposed, especially since she had snuck into the new neighbors’ garage barely a day after promising Zak that she would stop being so nosy, but she hadn’t thought he would spank her quite that hard. Even more than the sting of the spanking though, the discipline had left her emotionally wrung out. She felt like she was exhausted.

  Without a word, Zak took her arm and gently helped her to her feet. Had he not been holding onto her hands, she would have immediately reached back to rub her stinging ass cheeks. Which was probably the reason he was keeping them in a firm grip.

  “No more sneaking into the new neighbors’ garage so that you can snoop, Daphne,” he told her firmly, his dark eyes intent as he spoke. “I mean it.”

  Daphne shook her head. “I won’t,” she said in a small voice, then added, “I promise.”

  Zak studied her for a long moment as if trying to decide whether he should believe her or not, before he finally nodded and released her hands. She almost reached back to cup her sore ass, but at the look in her husband’s eye, thought better of it and pulled up her panties instead. She gasped a little as the material brushed her stinging skin. Ouch! Picking up her shorts, she slowly put them back on. After she had slipped her feet back into her sandals, Zak reached out and pulled her into his arms.

  Her bottom stinging fiercely from the spanking he’d just given her, Daphne leaned against her husband, needing him to hold her almost more than she ever had before. She had to know that after what she’d done, it was all better now. And even though her bottom still stung like crazy, she did feel better, like they had just made up after a fight. The feeling of being in his arms after such a serious spanking was even more comforting than it normally was.

  They stood like that for a while, with him just holding her close before he tilted her head back and kissed her. Even after eight years of marriage, Zak’s kisses still made her melt inside and Daphne let out a little moan of pleasure as she kissed him back. Normally, they could barely keep their clothes on after he gave her a spanking, but this time, she just needed to be held and kissed.

  “I have to get back to the station,” he said when he lifted his head moments later.

  She gave him a quizzical look. “But I thought you came home for lunch.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face with a rueful smile. “I did, but I had to spend my lunch break giving my errant wife a spanking instead.”

  Knowing she’d made him miss lunch made her feel even worse about the whole snooping episode and Daphne looked away. Zak’s fingers beneath her chin brought her head up again.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ll stop and get something to eat on the way back to the station.”

  Her lips curved into a small smile. “Or I could make you a sandwich, and you could take it with you.”

  For a moment, she thought he was going to refuse, but then he nodded.

  Zak leaned back against the counter while she made lunch and as she listened to him tell her about his day, Daphne couldn’t help but be surprised at how easily things had gone back to normal after such a spanking. It wasn’t exactly as if it had never happened—her bottom was way too sore for that—but oddly enough, now that it was over, she felt completely and totally forgiven for what she had done. Chastened and sore, but forgiven.

  At the door, Zak kissed her again, a deep, passionate kiss that made her wish he didn’t have to go back to work so soon.

  “I love you, Daph, you know that, right?”

  The words were said in all seriousness and Daphne felt her heart squeeze at the look in, Zak’s beautiful, dark eyes. “I know.” She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him. “I love you, too.”

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Behave yourself.”

  She felt herself flush. “I will,” she promised. “Be careful.”

  Zak flashed her a grin. “Always.” He kissed her again before walking into the garage. Opening the door of the SUV, he glanced at her before getting inside. “Remember what I said, no more snooping.”

  “I won’t,” Daphne replied.

  Leaning against the doorjamb, she watched as he backed out of the garage, then gave him a wave as he drove off.

  Closing the door that led out to the garage, she turned and walked back into the kitchen, rubbing her bottom as she went. Though it didn’t throb as much as it had right after her husband had given her that spanking, her bottom still stung fiercely. Her gaze going to the kitchen table, she saw that the hairbrush was still where Zak had left it. She was just about to grab it and bring it back up to the bedroom when she spotted saw her new neighbors through the window.

  The hairbrush forgotten for the moment, Daphne edged closer to the kitchen window, watching the couple for a moment. Though they were clearly the people in the photograph she’d seen, the woman’s curly hair was now shoulder-length and blond, while the man no longer wore a beard and mustache.

  The urge to know more about the couple was suddenly too much and before Daphne even realized what she was doing, she was out the door and walking toward their house. Zak said he didn’t want her snooping. He didn’t say anything about her inviting their new neighbors over to dinner. Being social, even if it was so she could satisfy her curiosity, wasn’t technically snooping. Well, okay, maybe it was. But it was authorized snooping. Zak couldn’t say anything about her being social.

  The couple looked up from what they were doing as Daphne made her way across the front lawn. She gave them a smile.

  “Hi,” she said, offering her hand. “I’m Daphne Sullivan, your next door neighbor.”

  The man shared a glance with his wife before answering. “John Anderson,” he said, shaking her hand. “And this is my wife, Claire.”

  Daphne shook the other woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, giving them another warm smile. “I actually came over to invite you to dinner. Kind of a welcome to the neighborhood kind of thing.”

  But John Anderson was already shaking his head. “Thank you, but...”

  “We’d love to come,” Claire said, interrupting her husband before he could finish.

  Though the look that John Anderson gave his wife was unreadable, the tension between them was difficult to miss. Daphne couldn’t help but frown. It felt like the temperature had just dropped twenty degrees.

  She forced a smile to her lips. “That’s great. My husband usually gets home about five-thirty, so why don’t you come over around six?”

  Clearly not happy th
at his wife had accepted the dinner invitation, John said nothing, but stood tight-lipped as Claire answered for both of them.

  “We’ll be there,” she said. “Is there anything we can bring?”

  Daphne shook her head. “Just yourselves.”

  The other woman smiled. “We’ll see you tonight then.”

  Taking that as her cue to leave, Daphne again told the Andersons how nice it was to finally meet both of them, then walked back over to her house. At the door, she glanced over at the neighbors to see them arguing. Though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, the exchange seemed pretty heated to her. Abruptly, Claire turned on her heel and stormed inside, leaving John standing there on the walk. After a moment, he strode up the front steps and went into the house, slamming the door behind him.

  Surprised by the couple’s behavior, Daphne stood where she was for a moment before going inside. In the foyer, she leaned back against the door and wondered why a simple dinner invitation had caused a fight.

  * * * *

  Daphne was in the kitchen making dinner when Zak got home that evening. Her husband took one look at the four place-settings on the table, then at the sundress she had on in place of her usual shorts and a tank top, and lifted a questioning brow.

  “Are we expecting company?” he asked.

  She smiled at him over her shoulder as she cut tomatoes for the salad. “I invited the new neighbors over for dinner.”

  Daphne expected Zak to make some comment about being too tired to have company on a weeknight, but instead he only came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle.

  “What time are they coming over?” he asked.

  His breath stirred her hair as he spoke and Daphne leaned back against him with a sigh. “In about thirty minutes.”

  “Good,” Zak said. Taking the knife from her hand, he put it down on the cutting board beside the tomatoes, then turned her to face him. “That’s enough time for me to remind you to be on your best behavior.”

  As he spoke, Zak took her hand and led her out of the kitchen and into the living room, stopping only long enough to grab one of the big wooden spoons from the counter as he went.

  Chapter 2

  An hour later, Daphne’s bottom was stinging from the spanking she’d just gotten and she squirmed in her seat. When she’d seen Zak grab the wooden spoon from the counter, she had quickly realized his intention and automatically protested, telling her husband that she didn’t need a reminder to behave, not after the hard spanking he’d given her that afternoon. But Zak had disagreed and she had soon found herself over the back of their sectional couch with her sundress flipped up in the air and her panties down around her thighs.

  Though it wasn’t even close to the discipline spanking she’d gotten that afternoon, the two-dozen smacks he’d given her with the wooden spoon had still stung like crazy and by the time he was done, she was dancing from foot to foot and yelping loudly.

  Afterward, Zak had stood her on her feet, lifted her chin and told her in no uncertain terms that she was not to do any snooping that night.

  “I can ask questions though, can’t I?” she had asked, looking up at him from beneath lowered lashes.

  “As long as you don’t pry,” he’d told her. “But if I even think for a minute that you’re snooping, then you’re going over my knee for another session with the hairbrush after our guests leave. Is that clear?”

  Not eager to experience another discipline spanking so soon, Daphne had quickly nodded. Once their guests had arrived, though her curiosity threatened to get the best of her and she wanted to ask all sorts of probing questions. She ignored the urge, though, and instead played the perfect hostess.

  Though still reserved, John Anderson seemed less aloof than he had when Daphne had first met the couple that afternoon. He shook Zak’s hand with a smile when Daphne introduced them and even commented on what a beautiful home she and Zak had. As for his wife, Claire was as warm and open as she had been earlier. Daphne had no doubt she and the other woman could become good friends.

  The conversation flowed easily during dinner. John explained that he was in real estate, while Claire mentioned she was planning on opening up a small art gallery in town after they got settled in. Interested in art herself, Daphne was immediately intrigued by the idea and told the other woman as much. That got them talking about art for quite a while, leaving the men to discuss boring “guy stuff” like sports, cars and tools.

  Halfway through dinner, John asked Zak what he did for a living, When her husband admitted he was a police detective, Daphne couldn’t help but notice the other man’s eyes go a little wide. Before she could think about it, however, Claire spoke, remarking that police work must be very interesting. Agreeing that it was, Zak shared some of his more amusing stories with them.

  A little while later, the subject changed yet again, this time turning back to John and Claire.

  “So, are you two originally from Virginia, or did you move here from out of state?” Zak asked.

  John glanced at his wife. “Actually, we both grew up in the Midwest. Wed wanted to get away from the harsh winters for a while, so when I got a great job offer down here in Virginia, we couldn’t pass it up.”

  Daphne’s brow furrowed as she remembered the pictures she had seen when she’d been snooping around the couple’s garage earlier. They had been filled with palm trees and beautiful beaches. As far as she knew, there weren’t any palm trees and beaches in the Midwest.

  “I thought you two were from Florida or someplace like that,” she said.

  John looked at her sharply across the table. “No. Why would you think that?”

  Daphne flushed. “Well...You both have such great tans, I just naturally thought you were from somewhere that had a beach, I guess,” she lied.

  Sheesh, could she sound any more lame? John and Claire didn’t have much more of a tan than she and Zak did. But what could she say? I found pictures while I was snooping around in your garage, and I think you’re lying to us.

  John’s hand tightened on his wine glass. “Well, we’re not.”

  Daphne’s color deepened. “My mistake. That’s why my husband’s the detective, not me.”

  As she spoke, she saw Zak slant her a hard look, one that said, “I know what you’re up to, and I want you to stop it right now.”

  Eager to escape her husband’s glare, Daphne pushed back her chair and got to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll clear the table and get us some coffee.”

  “I’ll help you,” Claire offered.

  But Zak was already on his feet. “Sit, please. I’ll help her. You two are guests.”

  John and Claire were silent as Daphne reached for their plates, but as she walked across the kitchen, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see John lean over and whisper something to his wife.

  “I warned you about snooping, Daphne,” Zak asked softly as he came up beside her and placed the casserole dish on the counter.

  Daphne glanced over her shoulder to where their guests were sitting at the table. “I wasn’t snooping,” she said, her voice just as soft as his.

  He lifted a brow. “It sure as hell sounded like you were snooping to me.”

  Unable to meet her husband’s gaze, Daphne busied herself with making the coffee. Zak, however, wouldn’t let the matter drop.

  “We’ll discuss this later,” he told her firmly.

  Daphne said nothing as she filled coffee pot with water. We’ll discuss this later probably meant she would be getting another spanking, she thought sullenly.

  As the coffee finished brewing, Zak opened one of the cabinets and took out four coffee mugs. Then, coffee and dessert in hand, they both walked back over to the table.

  Hoping if she was on her best behavior for the rest of the evening, Zak would forget all about spanking her, Daphne made every effort not to be as nosy as they had coffee and dessert. And she did do very well, or at least she thought so. Apparently, Zak must have disagreed beca
use once or twice, he lifted a brow at something she said. No matter how hard she tried, however, she couldn’t help but ask a few questions about their background. By the time John and Claire had left, she was almost certain they were hiding who they really were and where they really came from.

  “I think John and Claire are hiding something,” she said to her husband as she filled the dishwasher.

  He closed the fridge to give her a dark look. “And what business is that of yours?”

  She turned back to the sink for the stack of dessert dishes and continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I think they’re lying about being from the Midwest.” Putting the small plates into the dishwasher, she added detergent, then pushed the door closed and turned it on before washing her hands. “And did you notice how tense John got when I mentioned Florida?”

  “Daphne...” Zak warned softly.

  Drying her hands on a towel, she turned to look at him. “I’m telling you, honey, they’re hiding something,” she insisted. “When I was in their garage earlier, I found some photos in one of the boxes of Claire and John in front of a house with palm trees.”

  “Maybe they were on vacation.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You know, it wouldn’t be that hard for you to do a background check on them.”

  “Okay, that’s it!”

  Closing the distance between them, Zak grabbed her arm and marched her across the kitchen and into the living room.

  “Honey, what are you doing?” she asked in alarm as he led her over to the stairs.

  At the bottom of the steps, he turned her to face him, his gaze hard as he looked down at her. “I’m going to put you over my knee and give you another spanking because you obviously didn’t learn anything from that one I gave you this afternoon.”