Jules curled up on the couch, legs tucked under herself as she watched Ladyheart from across the room. She hadn't seen the Domme or the rest of their mutual friends in nearly six months, but despite being glad to see everyone, she couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness that engulfed her. Having managed to get on Lady's 'list' numerous times and faced with the threat of a long session over her lap with the dreaded bathbrush, Jules wasn't too anxious to find herself alone with Lady, no matter how happy she was to see her favourite Domme.

Ladyheart looked up and caught Jules looking at her, noting the small nervous quirks the girl had that Lady had long ago picked up on. Jules' toes often curled and uncurled nervously, and she played absently with the ring on her finger or a lock of her hair whenever she was anxious about something, this time it being a lock of her long auburn hair, twisting the loose strand around her finger and watching it uncurl, oblivious to how her habits betrayed her.

Lady finally figured she had let Jules squirm for long enough, crossing the room and motioning for the girl to stand up. Jules struggled slowly to her feet, her face already blushing slightly as she looked at Lady and bit her lip. Her hazel eyes widened as Lady pulled a small book out of her purse, ignoring the curious looks of their friends.

"I have you down on my list five times Jules, and as I promised, I intend to take care of that tonight," Lady informed her in a soft yet deceptively stern voice. It was not so soft everyone in the room couldn't hear her, however. "I want you to go to our room, take the bathbrush and the Cracker Barrel paddle out of the toy drawer and lay them on the bed, change into your nightie, and wait for me in the corner...understand?"

Jules' cheeks flushed fiercely as Lady spoke, her eyes shifting away from the Domme's and gazing at the ground. She swore she could feel the eyes of everyone in the room watching them as Lady waited for her answer, and felt the blush deepen, painting her cheeks a vivid shade of crimson. She kept her gaze glued to the ground and mumbled sullenly, "Ok."

Lady raised a brow, not surprised by the sullen answer as she knew Jules well, but expecting a more contrite reply given the rather steep hole Jules had already dug for herself with her sassy attitude. Given too much slack, Jules tended to test limits, and Lady wasn't in the mood to be tested.

"Pardon me?"

Jules shifted her foot, stealing a glance at Lady's non-too-forgiving expression and sighing with embarrassment, forcing out a much more polite "Yes Ma'am".

"Better. Now go, and you best be ready by the time I get down there," Lady warned, brushing the loose lock of hair Jules had been toying with behind her ear and shooing her off.

* * *

Jules shifted in the corner impatiently, playing nervously with the laced hem of the black babydoll nighty she wore. The lace of the bodice barely covered her small breasts and the sheer fabric of the skirt hung to midthigh, the matching sheerness of her panties visible just below the hem. She'd been standing staring at the corner for at least 15 minutes, after a frantic rush to change and gather the implements Lady had requested. Now she wished she'd taken her time.

A movement out of the corner of her eye distracted Jules of her pouting, glancing over to see Ladyheart perched on the bed next to the carefully layed out implements, motioning for Jules to join her with the bend of a finger. Jules obeyed slowly, taking a deep breath. Lady spanked damn hard, and Jules was not looking forward to the 150 plus smacks she had coming, especially knowing that the rest of the weekend would be spent being spanked on an already sore bottom.

Lady pointed silently to the pillow on the floor, and Jules obediently knelt, resting back on her heels and clasping her hands in front of her, staring at the floor with a pout still playing at her lips. Lady took the pouting sub's chin in her hand and forced her to look up, locking her gaze into Jules'.

"I have five check marks next to your name on my list young lady, and we are going to have a little discussion about those marks before I apply them to your bottom," Lady scolded, keeping a firm grip on Jules' chin as the flush once again rose into the girl's cheeks. "I want you to remind me how you earned each of those marks."

Jules flashed an angry scowl at Lady, gritting her teeth and grumbling, "Like you don't remember."

Lady sighed and released her hold on Jules' chin, moving her grip down to pinch each of her nipples between fingers, tightening her grip with a twist and narrowing her eyes, voice low with warning. "Would you care to rephrase that Jules?"

Jules yelped and caught in a breath, leaning forward in a desperate but failed attempt to ease the grip on her nipples. Lady didn't loosen her hold, and Jules finally gave in with a whimper, "Because I was sassy and disobeyed you and was rude."

Lady nodded and released Jules' nipples with a final pinch, the tips of her amethyst coated nails leaving painful indentations. Jules let out a small gasp of relief, which turned itself right around as Lady picked up the thin, sturdy Crackle Barrel paddle, laying it innocently in her lap as she continued her lecture.

"When I tell you to go to bed because you are sick and need the rest, I expect you to do just that. I don't mind when you are mischievous and playful, but we both know the difference between that and being disrespectfully sassy or outright rude." Lady's voice was firm and chastening, not a tone it took on often, but when there, it demanded attention. Jules' attention was well focused, struggling to hold her gaze on Lady despite the humiliation rushing through her. She hated disappointing anyone, much less anyone she respected as much as she did Ladyheart. Sometimes her struggle to behave properly was outdone by her stubborn will...but she always paid dearly for it later.

"I know you are sorry for how you behaved now, but I do believe you need a reminder not to be such a smart-ass in the future, and that my orders are not meant to be shrugged off. Understand?"

Jules nodded silently, the pout still playing at her lips but the defiance of it no longer reaching her eyes. She caught herself as Lady wrapped a hand around the paddle, answering quickly, "Yes Ma'am."

"Good...now get up and come here."

Jules gulped and got to her feet, tugging the hem of the nightie down in an absurd attempt to cover her bottom. Lady smiled wryly at the action, pulling Jules across her lap swiftly, catching her off guard and pushing the nightie up to reveal the curves of Jules' bottom outlined with sheer silk. Jules squirmed and squealed a protest, which Lady answered with a firm volley of paddle smacks over her panty clad bottom. Jules squealed and struggled with each swat, bare feet digging into the carpet and fists gripping the patterned bedspread desperately as Lady warmed her bottom with the stingy paddle, each smack landing solidly and painfully. Lady stopped after a few dozen strokes and Jules felt her panties being tugged down, burying her face into the bedcover and biting back a whimper, dreading what was coming next.

Lady stroked a cool hand against Jules' pinkened bottom and asked firmly, "Jules...when I tell you to go to bed by a certain time, what are you going to do?"

Jules sniffled and grumbled, "Go to bed like I'm supposed to."

The first bathbrush smack landed right in the center of her cheek, the loud crack mixing in with the howl of Jules' surprised reaction. The second was no less painful, nor the following 60 or so. Jules howled and protested with each smack, trying desperately to escape Lady's strong aim. Jules was no wimp, but even the toughest bottom would have a hard time taking a bathbrushing from this Domme silently, and Jules hadn't been spanked in six long months.

Lady stopped for a moment, rubbing her palm soothingly over Jules' quivering bottom and asked again, "What are you going to do Jules?"

"Go to bed like I'm supposed to Ma'am!" she answered, voice clearly less defiant but a quiver of chastisement weaving it's way between the words, making her sound almost pitiful. Jules felt like her bottom was on fire, suddenly wishing she hadn't been so quick to disobey.

Lady smiled, pulling Jules up into her lap, hearing her wince a bit as her weight shifted on her freshly spanked bottom. "Good, I'm glad to hear it, now let's talk about your impudence. I have three marks down for you for being sassy and smart-mouthed, one of them for being downright rude. I expect you to learn to be more respectful, and if I have to paddle you like this every time you forget, then that is just what I will do...understood?"

Jules nodded miserably, sniffling, "Yes Ma'am."

With that, Lady pulled Jules back down over her lap, targeting the bathbrush on her tender sitspot, working the bathbrush down to cover every inch of Jules' thighs. Jules gasped and squirmed, biting back squeals and struggling to keep her hands gripped to the rumpled bedspread. Lady brought the brush down to land in a particularly sensitive area and Jules' lost her resolve to cooperate, her hand flying back in a despairing attempt to protect her burning posterior.

Lady frowned and grabbed Jules' arm, holding it safely out of the way on her back and scolded, "Jules! You know better than that!", bringing the bathbrush down on her thighs with renewed vigor. Jules wailed in frustration, pleading with the Domme to stop, promises of good behavior flowing freely from her lips, petulant comebacks long forgotten.

"Laadddy, please, I'll be good, I promise, I will!" Jules sobbed, her body going limp as she stopped fighting the spanking, voice broken with sobs and sniffles. Her bottom and thighs were bright red now, splotches of discipline marring her smooth skin. Lady felt the girl give in and loosened her grip on Jules' arm while still keeping it secured behind her back, and dealt out the last 30 strokes swiftly, concentrating on covering every inch of Jules' punished bottom. Jules took it without struggle, wincing and whimpering over Lady's lap, her face buried into the bed.

Lady set the bathbrush aside, letting Jules catch her breath and rubbing her hands soothingly over her bottom, feeling the heat of her handiwork. She had a feeling Jules would be behaving around her for the rest of the weekend.

"You going to behave now Jules?" Lady asked, palm still tracing soothing circles across Jules' bottom. Jules sniffled and nodded, lifting her head up and brushing her hair out of her face, and whispered, "Yes Ma'am, I'll behave."

Lady helped Jules up and tugged the disheveled nightie back into place, scooting back on the bed and settling against the pile of pillows. She patted the bed next to her with a gentle smile, and Jules crawled over next to Lady, laying on her side and snuggling up tight in the security of the Domme's arms. Lady soothingly brushed Jules' hair out of her tear-streaked face and murmured, "You deserved that Jules, and I won't hesitate to do it again if you earn it, but you know I love you and care about you."

Jules smiled softly and whispered, "I love you too," adding with a blush as she lowered her eyes, "thank you."

Lady leaned forward and planted a kiss on Jules' forehead, picking up the body pillow off the floor and pulling a blanket securely over her. "Get some rest, we have a long weekend yet and you need it."

Jules started to protest but caught herself and nodded drowsily as she curled up around the pillow and closed her eyes with a sigh. Her bottom still burned and throbbed, but she felt more content than she had in six long months. No matter how much it hurt, the weekend just wouldn't be the same without a few marks on Lady's list.