Beth lay in a daze. She had never felt such intense pleasure in her life. Was it like this with all men? Somehow she doubted it. Her friends had described messy, unsatisfying encounters that were over too quickly and while their stories had always been funny to hear, they'd done nothing to encourage her to try it. Had she been missing out?
The way he had held her, kissed her, pushed her to unimaginable levels of bliss. Was it possible that she had feelings for him? After everything he had done to her? She had to get a grip. This man was holding her against her will and had forced himself on her. Whether she had enjoyed it or not was beside the point.
Her body felt like jelly but she had to move. When was she going to get another opportunity? Sliding out from under his arms, she scoured the room for some clothes to wear. She found her jeans, boots and bra before pulling on one of Jack's shirts. Being as quiet as possible, she closed a restraint around Jack's ankle before tiptoeing out of the room.
Guilt. Why on earth was that emotion swamping her stomach? A shiver ran down her spine -- he was winning and she could feel it. He was awakening something within her that generations of women had fought against. She would not give in and become the property of a man no matter what she felt for him.
Taking a deep breath, she found the keys to the ute in the kitchen and ran outside. This was so much easier than she'd anticipated. Jumping into the driver's seat, she turned the key and revved. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. Panic began to rise. He must have disconnected something and she had no idea when it came to cars. She gave it one more futile attempt as the tears began to fall.
"Beth?!" Jack's angry shout came from the bedroom.
"BETH!!!!"
Leaping out of the ute, Beth ran. Thoughts of water, food, maps and shelter fell out of her head as she panicked. She had to get as much distance between him as possible as quickly as possible.
Jack was furious. He'd heard the door of the ute slam and the empty ticking of the engine. He couldn't believe that she wanted to leave after the afternoon they'd just shared. His pretty wife was clearly far from tame and she was due another session with the paddle. He unscrewed the bed frame and released the restraint before going to get the key. He rubbed his ankle as it fell loose, realizing just how uncomfortable it was having them on.
He took his time getting dressed -- she wouldn't get far. It also gave him a chance to cool down and think rationally. He was silly if he thought he'd cracked her in less than a day. Of course she'd try to run. She had to at least try and she'd soon see that there was no point. Better she gets it out of her system now and accepts the inevitable.
Jack collected some rope from the drawer. Wandering out to the ute, he scanned the landscape. He could see a small cloud of dust caused by Beth's footfalls in the distance. He popped the hood and made some adjustments before starting the engine and driving after her.
Beth heard the truck start. He'd managed to get free a lot sooner than she'd expected and there was nowhere for her to hide. She slowed to a walk and held the stitch in her side. Shielding her eyes from the strong sun, she peered into the distance hoping to see a house, a car, a horse, anything, but she was once again disappointed. She knew she was in for another beating and felt the now familiar contracting of her stomach muscles. She walked on regardless and tried not to cry.
Jack pulled the ute alongside her and matched his speed to her pace. She refused to look at him.
"Where are you going Beth?" No answer.
"You know you won't get far in this heat -- not that I'd let you try. You're my property now sweetheart and I look after my things." Still no response.
"Question is, are you gonna get in the ute by yourself or do I have to make you?"
"Look Jack, I know you've won this round and I know I can't get away. I'll get in the ute myself in a minute and do whatever you say but not until you've listened to me." Beth knew she was on thin ice. There was nothing to stop him forcing her into the truck without another word but she hoped her offer to give in and submit by herself was enough to delay him.
"Why would a husband have to abduct and then train a wife? Why aren't women taught to submit to men from birth? If women are chattel to be sold or stolen, why don't their father's keep them locked up? - because it's not true Jack. It doesn't make sense..."
"Beth..." Jack's threatening tone almost stopped her but Beth knew she was in trouble anyway so she may as well carry on.
"Women are free to choose what they want to do with their lives. They can choose whether to get married or not, whether to have children or not, which job they'd like, how late they stay out, which friends they have. We aren't owned by anyone. We aren't slaves or property. If we get married it's because we're in love with someone and husbands have to listen to their wife's views and opinions. If a husband is mean to his wife, she leaves him and gets a divorce. I'm sorry Jack but somehow you've been taught all the wrong things. I ..."
"Enough!" Jack already knew Beth well enough to know when she was lying. This time it was different. She seemed so sincere but how could it possibly be true? A niggling doubt had crept into Jack's brain and it scared him.
"Jack your Dad has been..."
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Jack had stopped the ute now and in the blink of an eye he had her against the side of the truck while he bound her hands behind her back. Sweeping her off her feet, he secured her ankles together before running the rope up to her wrists. Her knees were bent up and her back was arched backwards in a hog tie as he threw her, none too gently, into the bed of the truck. He slammed the door and restarted the engine before heading for home.
The wind had been knocked out of her when she landed and Beth tried to suck in air as she sobbed. She knew she had made things worse for herself but at least she had made him think. As Jack made a sharp U turn, something slid into her leg. Looking down, Beth saw her bags from yesterday full of new clothes, money, keys and, most importantly, her mobile phone. There was no hope of reaching it in her current position but it raised a glimmer of hope for her.
All too soon they were back at the homestead and Jack was roughly pulling her from the ute. He carried her into the living room and dumped her on the floor as he sat in his chair. He was red in the face and breathing heavily. Beth wisely decided to keep quiet.
"I don't want to hear any more on that subject Beth. Do you understand?" Beth nodded.
"I'm sick of it. You're MY wife and I'll train you in any way I see fit. In the last hour you've left the room without permission, put on clothes which you were forbidden to do, tried to restrain me, attempted to steal the ute, ran away and lied yet again. There are plenty of men out there who'd take a whip to you for much less. Perhaps that's what I should do." Beth whimpered and visibly recoiled at his feet causing Jack to pause.
"How could you run away from me Beth?" Jack said in a softer voice. His heart ached. All he wanted to do was love her. He hadn't realized quite how hard he'd find it to break her in. The thought of punishing her again made him feel sick but he'd been taught that that's what a real man and a good husband should do whether they want to or not. He could feel himself welling up with tears.
"Don't you know I love you? Don't you know how worried I'd be? What would I have done if anything had happened to you? I'd be left here by myself missing you all the time. You mean everything to me but you'd rather die than be here? We could be so happy together Beth if you'd just let me take care of you. I'm trying to be a good husband to you. I'm trying to show you how it could be but you keep pushing me away. I don't want to have to keep punishing you -- I hate it. I just want to see the pleasure I saw on your face this afternoon. Why won't you let me?" Beth was crying now. She'd had her head on the carpet but now she wriggled until her forehead rested on the top of his foot. She knew it was a submissive gesture but she needed to feel close to him.
"Well? What have you got to say for yourself? And be very careful what you say Beth." Jack warned.
Beth believed him. She believed that he was upset she'd left, that he'd been worried for her safety, that he'd miss her if she were gone and even that he loved her. Jack was doing exactly what he'd been raised to do which was to claim a woman and make her his - but he'd involved his heart in it now. He'd involved hers too.
"I'm sorry." she sobbed. And she meant it. Jack was almost as innocent in all this as she was. She'd hurt him badly by trying to leave and that had never been her intention.
"I'm so sorry Jack. I don't want to hurt your feelings or make you worry. I know you're only trying to protect me and be the husband you think you should be but I can't stay here. I've got to go home. Please at least let me talk to my family and let them know I'm safe. Please Jack, please." Beth raised her head and tried to look in his eyes as she talked. He reached down and brushed her fringe back in his familiar, tender way. She could see that he was fighting back tears and she put her head back down onto his foot.
Jack saw the pain etched on his wife's face. This was so hard for her. She missed her parents, her friends and her freedom. This must be such a huge adjustment to make. She had said she was sorry and he hated seeing her cry like this. He wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be alright -- her training could wait for a minute.
"I still have to punish you." Jack concluded. Beth nodded and stayed quiet. Jack undid the ropes and helped her up until she was sitting in his lap. She pressed her face into his neck and sobbed quietly while he rocked her.
"Ssssshhh Beth. It's ok. Ssssshhh. What am I gonna do with you? Hmmm? Sssshhh."
They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity until Beth finally had her breathing under control and Jack had kissed her lips until they were cherry red. Then he lifted her to her feet and took her hand leading her to the bedroom. She knew what was coming. She knew she didn't deserve it. She knew it was unavoidable.
"Take your clothes off Beth." he ordered softly and she complied. He lay her on the bed face down and stuffed a couple of pillows under her hips to raise her bottom up. He fastened the wrist and ankle cuffs so that she was stretched out and then reached for the paddle.
"70 - and you will count every one. 1 I will not run away, 2 I will not run away, 3 I will not run away. Understand?" Beth nodded and the first one crashed down.
At 40 Jack took a break and got Beth some water. He spoke soothing words to her and said how proud he was of the way she was taking it. He hoped this would be the last time she would get anything this severe and she nodded in agreement. Jack wiped the tears from her eyes and made sure she was as comfortable as possible before picking up the paddle and resuming the punishment. By the end of it Beth had lost her voice entirely. She slept after he had rubbed arnica cream into her backside and he decided to leave her in the restraints for now in case she tried to roll over in her fitful dreams.
