Safe Haven: An Age Play Spanking Romance Read online

  Safe Haven

  by

  Alice Liddell

  Chapter One

  Cassie’s Homecoming

  Cassandra Stevens fumbled in her backpack, searching for his key. She knew it was in there; she”d put it in there this morning. Damn it! Where was it? In frustration, she dumped everything out onto the doorstep. She found it, hidden in the jumble of notebooks and tampons and bits of papers. But her heart sank when she looked at the mess. She didn”t want to deal with this. She didn”t want to deal with anything right now but she could hardly leave everything strewn across his doorstep. So she knelt down and handful by handful stuffed it back into her pack. She was worn out and just wanted to get inside.

  Naturally, the lock wouldn”t yield. This was the first time she”d needed to let herself in and she wasn”t familiar with the lock. She felt tears well up. Nothing felt right about arriving when Roy wasn”t there. Usually he was home first. But it was exam period so she was done earlier than usual for a Friday. Roy had given her a key and permission to come as soon as she was finished with her final. She shifted from one foot to the other on his doorstep as she jiggled the key in the lock, sure his neighbors were watching and getting suspicious.

  Finally the lock finally gave way, and with a sigh of relief Cassandra slipped into the quiet haven of Roy”s home. He”d left the air conditioner on for her. Everything was neat and tidy, as usual. It was so calming to be here, despite everything that she was put through in this house. Well, let”s be honest: because of everything she was put through in this house.

  Cassandra bolted the door behind her, and moved to the kitchen table where he had said she”d find a note. She sat down heavily on a chair, and dropped her pack onto the table. Before she did anything else, she fished out her wallet and car keys and put them on the table for him.

  That was part of the routine, part of their arrangement. On Friday afternoons, as soon as she arrived, she surrendered these and everything else that made her an adult in the eyes of the outside world. Without her keys and driver”s license, she was that much more under his control.

  She couldn”t drive off in a huff anymore than a child can. Not that she would. Roy”s home was a safe haven for her. She knew it was the only thing that gave her the strength to stay in school.

  She picked up the note and read his neat script. “Dear Cassie,” it began. “Welcome home.

  I put out a snack of your favorite cookies for you. You can get yourself a glass of milk from the fridge if you want, but be careful not to spill. Be a good girl until I get home (about six). I”ll give you a nice warm bath before dinner. Love, Daddy.”

  Cassandra didn”t get a glass of milk. She never drank it except when she was here, and then only because he insisted. She took a cookie from the plate, bit into it, and looked at her watch. 4:10. Then she remembered, and removed the watch and set it next to her wallet and keys.

  Little girls don”t wear watches. While she chewed on the cookie, she flipped open her wallet and looked at her driver”s license. Twenty-nine years old. Way too old to be a junior in college. Why was it taking her so long to get through the normal stages of life?

  She knew why, but knowing didn”t make it any easier. She had her reasons. A father who disappeared. A mother who drank. Too many siblings. The wrong sorts of boyfriends. She took another cookie and reminded herself how much better she”d done in the last few years.

  The tangible proof of her upward progress, of course, was that she”d been accepted at State. It was quite a feat to get in as a transfer student, especially from the mediocre junior college that had been the only place that would take her when she”d tried to make her fresh start.

  The first month at State had been very hard. From the moment she”d arrived, she felt like a fish out of water. She hated the noise and lack of privacy in the dorm. She longed for her own apartment, but couldn”t afford it. Not at the prices in this town. The coursework was much more demanding than she was used to, and the professors and other students intimidated her. She was older than everyone in her classes and too awkward to make friends. Every evening, the temptation to close her books had been almost too strong to resist. She didn”t want to study; she felt like finding a bar, maybe even picking up some guy for something nice and anonymous.

  Anything to make her forget the insecurity that gnawed at her guts.

  That was when she”d seen the ad in the personals section of the campus paper. She”d read it so many times before she”d screwed up the courage to respond that she could still recall it, word for word. It had spoken directly to her. It had been in the third column, second ad from the top. It read: “Feeling lost? Father figure understands the little girl inside you. Will provide safe, supportive environment in return for your obedience and best behavior. You can expect strict but loving guidance. [email protected].”

  They had met in a quiet coffee shop a few blocks off campus. She liked him immediately, and felt soothed by his calm demeanor. He was nearly twenty years her senior, but trim and well dressed and a full head taller than her. They talked for a long time. He was experienced. He had done this before. A two-year relationship with a Canadian student until she left for graduate school. Another young woman before that.

  She was surprised that she opened up and told him about her family. She didn”t like to talk about her childhood and rarely did. Roy listened quietly as no one had ever listened to her before.

  “Yeah, that”s a tough way to grow up,” he agreed. “And maybe that”s part of why you feel the way you do, but I don”t think that”s all it is. Some women are submissive. It”s just the way they are, like being tall or being a redhead. It”s ok to be that way. There are a lot of men, including me, who think a submissive woman is the most precious thing in the world.” Cassandra was stunned. It was so hard for her to understand her fantasies and desires.

  And here was a man who not only understood but valued this part of her. He watched a big tear slide down her cheek then reached across the table and caught it with his finger. He smiled softly, and held her eyes with his. They were both silent for a few minutes.

  “Cassandra is a beautiful name,” he said at last. “It comes from Greek mythology. If I remember correctly, Kassandra was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba and was said to have the gift of prophecy.” He fell silent again. “Yes, it”s a beautiful name but a bit of a mouthful, don”t you think?” She did think. One of her mother”s many affectations had been to give all her kids la-di-dah names. “Cassandra,” he said softly, turning her name over on his tongue once more.

  “It”s just too grownup. I think I”d better call you „Cassie.”” She was smitten. They came to an agreement right there in the coffee shop, at their first meeting. Cassie would spend every weekend at his house, coming Friday afternoon and returning to campus on Monday morning for her first class. He would provide her with a room and meals, and make sure she studied and got enough sleep. In return, she would follow his rules. He was quite clear about what kind of rules she could expect, as well as the consequences for failure to obey. She agreed to his terms. All of them.

  Cassie took the last cookie on the plate, and looked at her watch on the table. She wanted to soak in a hot bath. She didn”t want to wait. If she went now, she could be done long before he got home. It wouldn”t hurt her to have another bath later if that”s what he wanted, and she”d feel so much better now. She was half aware that she was resisting his authority, but she”d been on her own all week, making her own decisions. It wasn”t like she could just flip a switch on Fridays and go instantly from grown woman to obedient little girl. The transition wasn”t always easy, and today she was too tired and
dirty to wait for him to come home.

  So she pulled herself out of the chair and went up the stairs to the bathroom. She stripped off her sweaty clothes and filled the tub with the hottest water she could stand. God, it felt so good. It had been a rough week. Frankly, the entire semester had been rough. She knew she”d never have made it through this first semester without the weekends here. She ran a bar of soap over her arms and chest, feeling the stress seep away as the hot water worked on her tense muscles. She slid her bottom down the tub until her shoulders were all the way under the water.

  I”ll just rest for a few minutes, she promised herself.

  The water had grown cold by the time she opened her eyes again. She pulled the plug but stayed where she was. She felt her body go heavy against the cold porcelain as the water swirled down the drain leaving her beached. She was shivering yet couldn”t make herself move. But she”d better. Cassie hauled herself up, grabbed a towel and rubbed her wet hair between the folds of thick terry. She wrapped the towel around her torso, and reached for the doorknob. She would need to get dressed quickly, she realized, if she was going to tidy everything up before he came home.

  Pulling open the bathroom door, Cassie gasped to find herself looking at Roy”s chest.

  “I see you finally decided to emerge. There”s only one bathroom in this house and it”s not yours to monopolize.”

  “I”m..I”m sorry,” Cassie stammered, shocked to find him home. Was he early? How long had she been in the tub? “I didn”t expect you yet.”

  “So I gather. Apparently you thought it was perfectly fine to disobey my instructions,” he said icily. “It would seem you think you may do whatever you like as long as I”m not here to catch you at it.”

  Cassie”s stomach lurched at the tone in his voice. She dropped her head in shame and her eyes fell upon the hairbrush in his hand. She looked up in fright . “Oh, no, please!”

  “Oh, yes, Cassie. I thought we”d been through all this last weekend, but I can see you need another lesson in obedience. I would have thought you”d already learned what happens to young ladies who don”t do as they are told. Well, the sooner you get a reminder, the sooner I can expect to see some improvement in your behavior. So we”re going to take care of this immediately.”

  With that, he pulled the towel from her. She knew better, but the sudden exposure made her press one arm protectively across her small breasts while the other tried to shield her pubis from his view. Her resistance only served to annoy him.

  “If you wish to preserve your modesty, I suggest you behave,” he said sharply, as he took hold of one arm and pulled it away, looking at her body hard enough to raise a hot blush on her face. She pleaded, and then panicked as he put one foot up on the low bench in the hall, raising his knee to form a dais for her discipline.

  “Oh, no, Roy! Please, not like that!” He ignored her; taking hold of her trembling, naked body and pushing her headfirst over his raised leg until her bottom was perched at the apex and her legs were hanging uselessly behind her. She hated this position. Even before the first fall of the hairbrush hot tears of shame and embarrassment welled up in her eyes. He started to punish her with the smooth back of the hairbrush.

  “How long were you in there?” he demanded. “Have you any idea what time it is?” Cassie had been biting her lip to keep from crying out, and wasn”t able to answer quickly enough.

  “I expect you to answer me when I ask you a question,” he stated, increasing both the pace and the intensity of the blows, making it impossible for Cassie to do anything but cry out and flail under the harsh discipline. After half a minute of intense punishment, during which nothing more was said, he paused, and repeated the question.

  Cassie gasped out that she”d gone in a little after four o”clock.

  Roy exploded, taking his anger out on her raised posterior. “For god”s sake! It”s nearly six now! You must have fallen asleep in there! You might have drowned. At the very least, you”ve probably given yourself a cold. You”re a bad, bad girl!” The thought of her drowning seemed to have set his determination to teach her a particularly painful lesson, for he stopped the scolding and focused on covering every inch of her bottom with sharp raps with the back of the hairbrush. He continued until her rump was bright red, her cries were desperate and she was churning her legs in the air in agony.

  Roy tired of the position, but had no intention of ending the lesson yet. He pulled her upright and onto her shaky legs. She danced in distress, stamping her feet and rubbing her hands furiously on her burning, aching bottom cheeks.

  “Stop that nonsense this minute, Cassie, or we”ll go cut a switch from the backyard and I”ll give you something to dance about.” She stilled herself the best she could, watching in dread as he sat down on the bench. “Alright, bad girl. You get yourself over my knees. This instant!

  Hands on the floor, and legs straight out. Hold the position or I”ll give you double the dose you”ve got coming.”

  Cassie did her very best, really, pressing her thighs and knees together and balancing the weight of her legs on her toes. She bent her elbows and put both hands down on the carpet to brace herself for further chastisement. But she was frightened and worn out, and the muscles in her arms and legs were trembling from the strain of the position.

  The hairbrush dropped onto the carpet in front of her, and she felt his strong arm press itself across her back and his hand rest on her burning, punished globes.

  “I don”t want you ever, ever to bathe when you are alone in the house,” he said, as he smacked the roundest part of her little bottom hard with his big palm. “Is that understood?”

  “Yes, yes. I”m sorry, Daddy. I”m sorry,” she sobbed, as he spanked her again and again.

  She didn”t notice that she had switched to calling him “Daddy,” but he did. He had quite deliberately set the severity of the punishment to elicit the change.

  “Do you make the rules around here?” Roy demanded, as he continued to slap her quivering bottom.

  “No! No! I”m sorry! Please, no more. No more!”

  “Who makes the rules in this house, Cassie?” he pressed.

  “You do! Oh, please, no more! You do, Daddy! You make the rules! Please, stop! I can”t take any more.” Cassie was in agony now, her entire bottom and the back of her legs aflame with a pain she knew she couldn”t bear much longer. She was desperately afraid the next smack would make her break the position.

  “You”ll take as much as I say, bad girl,” he retorted, giving her two extra hard smacks.

  “No, no! I can”t take any more. I can”t, I can”t! I can”t!” Her arms were shaking.

  Something had to give, and Cassie instinctively made the right choice. She began to cry. Really cry. A big, bawling cry. This was what Roy had been waiting for and he toned down the spanking immediately. He gave her a few more light slaps to encourage the tears, then held her over his lap as her body shook and heaved. All the tension of exams, of the stress of trying to be an adult, seeped out of her. He let her cry for several minutes.

  “Come on, now, sweetie,” he said gently, reaching for the hairbrush as he helped her up.

  “It”s over. Let”s get you into your nightie before you get chilled.” He led her to her bedroom, dropping the hairbrush on the bed before taking a clean cotton nightgown from her dresser. He slipped it over the sobbing girl”s head and arms, then wrapped her in her bathrobe.

  He sat in the chair by her bed and pulled her into his lap. She rested gratefully against his big warm chest, trying to keep her weight off her throbbing bottom. She was still sobbing, her fingers toying with the material of his shirt.

  “There, baby girl. It”s all right now. Daddy loves you.” Roy reached over to the bed for the hairbrush, and began to pull the bristles gently through her wet, tangled hair, coaxing it back into order. It felt so good, so safe, to have Daddy brushing her hair. With that hairbrush, he had stripped her of two decades. He had taken her from 29 to 19 with the back of
it, and now he was taking her from 19 to nine with the front of it. New tears started to run down her cheeks, and he pulled her against his chest and let her have another cry.

  And while she wept, he spoke into her ear in a voice that was so soft she almost couldn”t hear. “It”s okay, baby girl. Daddy loves you. You are so beautiful and special to me. It”s all right, sweetheart. I”ll take care of you. You”re safe with me.” Down in the kitchen, Roy had Cassie set the table while he started on their dinner. When she finished, he inspected her work. He expected her to do it right, the fork on the left and the knife and spoon on the right. The knife had to be turned the right way. And the napkin under the fork had to be folded neatly, with the edges lined up just right.

  “Looks good, baby girl. Now, while I broil the steaks I want you to go stand in the corner in the dining room and think about what obedience means. And you can hold up your clothes so I can see your well-spanked bottom.”

  Cassie”s face went hot with shame, but she did as she was told. She hated corner time, but had to admit that it was instructive. She got into position, then pulled the robe and nightie up over her legs and bottom, clutching the material at her waist. She was never allowed panties after a punishment, and standing there half naked, she couldn”t help but think about the punishment she”d just received. Not with her poor, sore bottom exposed like this. Tears of humiliation and regret welled up in her eyes, and she sniffed in her corner until he called her to the table for dinner.

  Despite the discomfort of sitting on chastised cheeks, Cassie enjoyed the dinner. Unlike the rushed meals she grabbed at the Student Center during the week, meals at Roy”s were always civilized and quiet. He was a good a cook, and the food was always hot, delicious and wholesome. They talked quietly, but not as equals. Everything about meal times was intended to remind her of her position in his house. Roy had built a special chair for her, just high enough that her legs couldn”t reach the ground. He was strict about manners, and she wasn”t allowed to rise from the table unless she received his permission. Nor was she allowed to reach for things; if she wanted the salt or the butter, she had to ask him to pass it. And she had to be sure to say