Page 8 of Taught By the Doctor
Zoey’s eyes flew back open and she shook her head wildly, her long hair whipping around her shoulders. “I’m not that tired,” she lied. She sat up. “I’ll just read out here while you vacuum.” She paused. “You sure I can’t help with anything now?”
She had asked it so innocently, but it was clearly the wrong thing to say. Evan grabbed her wrist and pulled her up before bringing his hand down on the back of her knee-length skirt half a dozen times. Zoey yelped after each one.
“Okay, okay!” she snapped when he released her. She stomped over to the bookshelf, searching for one to read. Her back was ramrod straight as she narrowed her eyes atthe books, not really reading the titles. She jumped when she felt a large hand on her freshly spanked rear.
“I’d drop the attitude if I were you,” Evan said in a low voice. He patted her bottom firmly before turning and picking the vacuum back up.
Zoey didn’t say anything, just snatched a random book off the shelf before plopping back onto the couch.
Evan was being completely ridiculous in her opinion, but he wouldn’t take kindly to her saying so. She knew he was just trying to do what was best for her, but helping him clean made the most sense to her. Cleaning wasn’t that difficult, and they could get everything done more quickly if they worked together. She could even clean up the kitchen now so they wouldn’t need to later that evening.
She tried to focus on her book as she heard the vacuum power on, but she couldn’t concentrate. She held the book in her lap and listened as she heard the vacuum go down the hall, moving away from her. She peered over the back of the couch, watching as Evan’s back disappeared down the hall and around a corner.
Keeping her eyes toward the hallway, Zoey put her book down on the side table before standing and making her way into the kitchen. She felt almost crazy as she stepped into the kitchen and her eyes began to scan the room for any signs of a mess. She grabbed a dish towel and began to wipe down the counters. She did that for a couple of minutes before turning to the stove. Grabbing a sponge off the side of the sink, she scrubbed dried sauce and oil off the top of the stove.
Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard the vacuum turn off. She dropped the sponge and turned around asecond too late. Evan was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, an unreadable expression on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, making the hard muscles of his biceps peek out from under the short sleeves of his t-shirt.
Zoey giggled nervously and backed up into the counter, her hands coming up to grasp the edges tightly in her tiny hands. She averted her eyes to the side, searching for an excuse.
“I was thirsty,” she said lamely as her eyes darted around. “So I came in here to get a drink and accidentally knocked the sponge off the counter. So I picked it up and then started to…” She trailed off when she looked at him and found that he hadn’t moved except for his eyes, which had hardened.
Evan slowly lifted a hand and crooked a finger at her, signaling her to approach him.
Zoey swallowed the whimper that wanted to claw its way out of her throat and dragged her feet across the kitchen, tucking her chin against her chest. She looked contrite as she approached him, but there was a defiant tic in her jaw. She felt like a naughty little girl, but she couldn’t fight down the feeling that she really hadn’t done anything wrong. She was helping out around the house, earning her keep. What was wrong with that?
What really kept her posture contrite was the hard look on Evan’s face. It was as if she had set his favorite golf clubs on fire or something with the way he was looking at her. She felt like a bug as she stood in front of him. She refused to look him in the face when she did finally close the gap between them.
“I honestly don’t know what you were thinking,” he said finally. One strong finger came under her chin to tilt her faceup. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you had left the couch?”
The defiant tic in Zoey’s jaw did not disappear, but it did lessen slightly. “You never said I had to stay on the couch.”
“True,” Evan allowed. He dropped his hand to grab her wrist firmly. “However, I did order you to rest until I was finished vacuuming. Does cleaning the kitchen count as resting?”
Zoey didn’t answer, pressing her lips together into a thin line. Evan nodded as if she had answered his question with her silence. He tightened his grip on her wrist before pulling her deeper into the kitchen, toward the large dining table.
Zoey tried to feebly tug her arm out of Evan’s grasp, beginning to whine. “Evan, c’mon! Don’t do this. I didn’t do anything!” She tried to dig her heels into the smooth kitchen floor, but Evan dragged her easily to the dark wooden table and threw her over it.
“Grab the far edge, Zoey,” Evan ordered. When she didn’t comply immediately, he swatted the back of her skirt firmly.
Zoey moaned as she reached out in front of her and grasped the edge of the table, forcing her to stretch her arms out all the way. She had to shimmy a bit to reach it, making her legs dangle a good few inches off the floor.
“Don’t let go of the edge and keep your eyes facing forward,” she heard Evan say. She stiffened when she heard him walk away and one of the kitchen drawers open. Several times in the short period, she was tempted to look over her shoulder, but she could tell Evan was angry enough as it was.
Evan didn’t keep her waiting long. He found what he was looking for immediately. The large wooden spoon had a head the size of a baseball and was about a half inch at itsthickest point. It was just over a foot long. He snapped it against his palm experimentally and grinned in approval. It would leave a nice, healthy sting.
“Look at me, Zoey,” Evan ordered once he was standing directly behind her skirt-covered bottom.
Zoey did so nervously, looking at him with sorrowful eyes that widened upon taking in the sight of the large wooden spoon Evan held like a weapon.
“Evan, please,” she begged, her lower lip poking out. “I really just wanted to help you. Is that such a bad thing?”
Evan’s response was to raise a dark eyebrow and flip the back of her skirt up. He smirked at Zoey’s choice of undergarments for the day. The skimpy pink lace thong left most of her bottom cheeks bare. This would be her first punishment in a couple of weeks. It was almost as if fate had her pick those panties to make his job easier.
“An order, no matter how small, is still an order,” Evan said simply as he eyed her bottom. “I ordered you to rest and you chose to disobey me. However, I will show you some mercy and let you keep these cute little panties up for your paddling.”
Zoey couldn’t help the scoff that escaped her lips. “Thank you so much,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. She immediately regretted it when she felt the wooden spoon press against her right butt cheek.
“Hmm, let’s see if we can fix that attitude of yours while we’re punishing you,” he intoned.
