Her Old-Fashioned Husband (17 page)

Frankie poked her tongue out at him, before taking off with a squeal. Tom dropped his stuff and took off after her.

“Ooh, you’re in trouble when I get you,” he yelled.

Frankie just laughed.

*****

“Right, baby, time to go in and eat,” Tom told Frankie as they played in the water.

“I’ll be in soon, okay?”

Tom
thought about it for a moment. H
e didn’t like her staying in the water without him, but Franki
e was an excellent swimmer. S
ometimes
he
had to fight his more overprotective instincts, not wanting to completely smother her.

“Okay, baby, don’t go swim any further out, you’ve been in here for a while and I don’t want you getting too tired.”

“Can’t have that.” She winked.

He grinned. “No, you’ll need some energy for later.
”
Squeezing her butt cheek, Tom turned and swam lazily back to shore.

God, he was so lucky. Frankie was amazing, beautiful, sensual and dynamic, plus she had this other side to her that was vulnerable, open and childlike. He adored the whole package that made up his wife.

He knew she needed this time, they both did. Coming here a few times a year would be good for them. Give them both a chance to relax and rejuvenate and to indulge in whatever sort of play they felt like.

Tom
dried himself off and put his t-shirt back on before laying out the blanket and pulling the picnic basket over. When it was unpacked to his satisfaction, he looked out at the lake.

“Frankie, time to come in,” he called out, frowning when he couldn’t see her straight away.

Then he saw her out in the distance. A lot further out than she’d been before.

He stormed to the edge of the water, fighting back his fear. Frankie was a strong swimmer, she’d probably just lost tra
ck of how far out she was.

“Frankie!” he yelled louder. “Get back here now!”

Her head bobbed as she looked back at him. He breathed a sigh of relief as she started back. Tom’s worry grew at how slowly she moved.

If she was
dawdling out of defiance he was going to make sure she couldn’t sit down for th
e rest of their holiday
.

He tore off his t-shirt,
and strode
into the water, determined to go and get her. His heart literally stopped as Frankie raised her hand into the air, showing him her closed fist. It was their signal if one of them was ever in trouble in the water.

Tom raced through the water until it got to waist level, then he struck out, swimming steadily towards her. Getting closer, he saw she was just lying on her back, floating.

“Frankie,” he called out as he got closer. He grabbed her under her breasts, helping support her. “What’s wrong?”

She smiled at him weakly. “Sorry, I didn’t know I was so far out and I was getting so tired. I was scared to keep going so I decided to float for a while.”

Panic threatened to overwhelm him at the weakness in her voice, her pale skin. He squashed the feeling. He was a
doctor;
he’d dealt with emergency situations before.

But never his own wife!

“It’s okay, honey, you did the right thing. I’m going to pull you into the shore, all right? Then we’ll get you all warmed up.”

He began to swim with one arm, paddling his feet steadily. Thank God he’d kept up his fitness routine, he wasn’t a young kid of eighteen anymore, but he still had plenty of go in him.

“I’ll help,” she said quietly.

“No,” he said sharply as he saw her legs start to move. “You just lie there, young lady. And you d
o not want to disobey me on right now
.”

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled.

“Shh, honey,” he said tenderly, immediately feeling like an asshole. She had to feel awful, scared and sick and here he was scolding her! “I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly. It’s all right. You just really scared me.”

Tom
reached the shore eventually and standing, pulled her up into his arms. Carrying her over to the blanket, he got
her towel and quickly dried her. Then he haphazardly chucked the food into the basket before wrapping her up in the
blanket. Her teeth chattered, her skin pale and cold as he held her on his lap and took her pulse.

It was slow.

“I’m sorry,” she said pitifully, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry.”

“Shh, baby,” he told her, kissing her forehead. “It’s all right. I’m going to get you back to the cabin and warmed up then I’ll make you a hot chocolate, all right?”
             

She nodded.

Tom packed up the rest of their stuff and placed the handles of the basket over
one arm. He could
come back for it, but he knew once he got Frankie back to the cabin he wouldn’t want to leave her again. He glanced down at her, worried at her pale listlessness as she lay there, her eyes closed. As well as getting very cold, she must have gotten a hell of a scare, he knew he had.

“
Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you home.” Crouching, he picked her up in his arms.

Frankie gasped, her eyes opening. “I can walk.”

He snorted. “Like hell, honey, you can barely keep your eyes open. Now, stop fussing and just lie quietly like a good girl.”

“Okay,” she agreed, making him worry even more, it wasn’t like Frankie not to argue a point.

Frankie opened her eyes as she heard Tom enter the room. He placed a steaming mug of hot chocolate on the bedside table then sat beside her, placing his doctor’s bag on the floor beside him.

After carrying her all the way home, he’d put them both in a hot shower, the cabin didn’t have a bath, and continued to support her as he warmed them both up. Then he’d dried her off
,
and placing her in some fleecy pajamas, put her to bed. Frankie hadn’t even bothered to protest that it was only two in the afternoon. She was exhausted.

Tom grabbed her wrist and turned it over, holding two fingers over her pulse while he stared at his wristwatch. He then reached into his black bag and grabbed his stethoscope. She loved watching him in doctor mode. Pulling back the covers slightly, he undid the buttons on the front of her pajama top and pulling the slides apart, placed the rounded end of the stethoscope on her chest.

“I’m not sick, Tom,” she said gently, needing to reassure him as her adult self.

He just stared at her sternly. “Take a deep breath. Now out.”
             

With a soft sigh, Frankie did as she was told, letting him hel
p her up so he could check
the back of her chest.

Tom helped her lie down again. “Roll
over.
I want to take your temperature.”

“But Tom, I’m fine,” she whined, st
arting to feel a bit more aler
t. For a while there she’d felt as though she was outside her own body, weird and disengaged.

Tom frowned. “I don’t like your color and your pulse is sluggish. I will be taking your temperature, whether I do it now or after a spanking is up to you.”

Frankie rolled with a grumble. Tom lowered her pajama
pants
. He hadn’t bothered putting any panties on her
. He parted her butt cheeks with one hand as she blushed deeply. Then one finger entered her bottom, pushing in deep. Frankie groaned.

“Right, relax
baby
,
while I put the thermometer in.”

Frankie squirmed until Tom slapped one
of her
buttock
s in warning
. She stilled and he slipped the thermometer inside
her ass
. Burying her head in the pillow, Frankie tried to pretend she was anywhere else until he pulled it out again.

“Temp’s a little high.”

Tom pulled her pajama pants up and rolled her again
, helping her sit up
.
He even fluffed the pillows behind her so she was comfortably supported.

“Drink your hot chocolate, love. I want you to stay i
n bed for the rest of the day.”
He ran his hand over her hair. “Are you sure you’re okay, Frankie? You’re very quiet.”

Frankie chewed at her lower lip as she glanced away from him. She worried the blanket covering her with her fingers.

“Frankie?”

“I guess I just got a bit scared is all.
I didn’t realize how f
ar out I was and then I was
so tired, I couldn’t keep going, I just...” she trailed off with a sob, tears filling her eyes.

Tom gathered her close, holding her on his lap and rocking her. “Shh, baby, it’s okay. I understand. You scared ten years off my life, that’s for sure. And you can bet that as soon as you’re feeling better I’m going to take a layer of skin off your butt.”

She snorted, sniffling still, although she was beginning to feel better. She hugged him tight, realizing this is what she’d been needing. To feel Tom holding her, surrounding her with his safety.

“I’m sorry, I really am.”

Tom pulled her back so he could look down into her face. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again, Frankie. I couldn’t stand it. You mean the world to
me
.
I don’t ever want to experience that sort of terror again.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Frankie stood naked in the corner of the r
oom, her nose against the wall
, her bottom pushed out. Tom sat in the sofa behind her, supposedly reading his book, although she bet he spent plenty of times looking at her rounded butt on display. She was certain she could feel his eyes on her.

It was two days after the
incident in the lake, and Tom had kept her in bed most of that time, worried about her health. She was feeling fine, though. She’d had a few bad dreams, but Tom was always there, holding her tight, helping her fight back her fears.

Frankie
knew she’d really frightened him, and she did feel horrible about that. Although, she bet she was going to feel even worse in a few short moments, once he started punishing her for disobeying him. She squirmed a little, thinking about the spanking to come.

“Stand still,” Tom told her sternly. He’d been very caring and attentive over the last few days, looking after her. But once he’d declared her fine this morning, his stern anger had shone through. He wasn’t happy with her, that’s for sure.

Hell, Frankie wasn’t very happy with herself.
It had been a terrifying experience, one that had reminded her that no matter how good a swimmer she thought she was, she had to be aware of the dangers of staying out for too long and letting herself get tired. She’d probably have been fine if she wasn’t so rundown in the first place.

However, there was no way she was
going back into the lake without Tom by her side for a very long time. Neither of them could cope with that at the moment.

“Come here, baby girl.”

Frankie turned and walked toward him. Grabbing her hand, Tom pulled her closer so she was standing between his outstretched legs.

“Do you have anything you want to say to me before I start your punishment?” he asked her.

Frankie dropped her eyes, chewing at her lower lip. “Only tha
t I’m sorry and I promise to be much more careful around water and to listen to you
.”

“Look at me, baby,” he urged her gently. His eyes held some sympathy as he smiled at her. “You understand this is going to be a hard punishment, don’t you? It’s not merely that you disobeyed me, but you placed yourself in severe danger by doing so. I love you so much, darling. I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“I love you, too,” she told him, her eyes filling with tears.

“Take yourself off to the bedroom, then. I want you to stand at the end of the bed and lean over it, you’ll see where I’ve placed the pillows. I’ll be in soon.”

Standing, he hugged her tight then turned her, sending her on her way with a smack to her ass.

Frankie walked slowly into the bedroom, gulping as she saw what he’d laid out on the bed. Two pillows
,
one on top of the other
,
sat at the end of the bed where she
was meant to lie. On the bed were
her hairbrush, one of his belts and a piece of carved ginger root. With a shudder, she lay on the pillows and split her legs wide, the way Tom liked, hoping if she was obedient and showed him how much she regretted her actions th
at he just might forget about using that
ginger root.

That was gonna hurt like hell.

She looked over her shoulder as Tom walked into the room, his face serious.