There was a moment, tense and filled with anticipation, and then Lucy felt a force against her bottom, followed by another.  It was a sharp crack, the same as what she'd gotten the night before.  His hand.<br/><br/>Heat spread through her, but she bit back her disappointment.  She had looked forward to the leather strips.  She was eager to try something new.<br/><br/>When he spoke, his voice was businesslike, quiet and strong.<em>"So, you wish to choose your own punishment, do you?  All well and good, but you should show proper respect to your teacher.  Next time you will come to your knees before me to offer it up unto my hands, or it will be the broad of my belt, or a cane, across your arse.  But we shall make do with the flogger tonight, since you are so adventurous.  Hand it to me please."</em><br/><br/>Her mind rushed to process all that he'd said.  Next time!  He wished to continue his engagement with her, even after tonight?  And dearest lord above, the thought of being on her knees before him.  There was something she found very enticing about the very image.  Perhaps she should apologize for not doing it right, but no, she wouldn't.  There was a rebellious streak in her, and even under these circumstances, she would not admit to fault where none lay.  If he'd wanted her to be on his knees, he should have told her so.  She'd be warned for next time, and now she knew the consequences.  She could choose her plaything and present it to him on her knees, or she could feel the bite of a cane or a belt.<br/><br/>She swallowed a moan and handed him the... flogger.  She had never heard the word before, and part of her wondered where he had.  How did a man learn of such wicked debauchery?  And part of her wondered how far this would go, how much Hugh Covington would teach Lucy in her quest to become a worldly, adventurous woman.  He was complicit in her endeavor even if he did not know of its existence.<br/><br/>He dragged the soft material across her back, and she squirmed against him just the tiniest bit, her breath hitching as her muscles tensed, expecting the worst.  Instead, when the flogger struck her, there was no pain.  Gone was the sting she'd felt from his hand, replaced instead by little more than the caress of a heavy-handed lover.<br/><br/>Hugh... no, he was still Lord Covington, promised to her dear Katie...<em>Lord Covington</em>launched into an explanation about the flogger, and she hung onto his every word.  Her education, after all, needed both an intellectual and a more hands on component.  And as he spoke, he continued the gentle swats with the contraption, some on her back and harder ones on her arse.<br/><br/>She felt hot, but it wasn't pain that was causing the sensation as it did when he struck her backside with his palm.  As he continued his ministrations, she could feel her breathing deepen, tiny gasps escaping her as she realized that the heat she felt was arousal.  How very wanton of her, to be this way in her presence.  At least she was faced away from him, so that he could not see how her cheeks were flushed and her nipples had pebbled.<br/><br/>He mentioned release, and it was not until then that she realized she yearned for hers.  Was it really possible, to achieve such a thing from the repeated strike of a flogger?  She had found it before, of course, but only in her own darkened chamber, and only very rarely, when she was so restless that it was the only relief she had.  It was a wicked thing to do, and even more so for a girl who was not wed.  It was private, and she'd never do such a thing in front of him, never!<br/><br/>So she held herself back, acutely aware that her sex throbbed with need, wishing she was back in the stable with Thomas Bonner.  There, she got relief, although the experience had been nothing like this one.  The whispers about the Baron were true.  He was a dark soul, wicked.  So wicked that he made Lucy ache for more.<br/><br/><em>"Would you like me to continue with this Lucy, or select a different flogger with more sting?  Or would you prefer to sample a different pleasureable pain?"</em>he asked.<br/><br/>Now Lucy did moan aloud, the sound coming out strangled and more like a whimper.  Did she want more of the same?  Something different?  If it was the same, what would the end of such sweet torture be?  Would she be able to contain herself, or would she end up humiliating herself by climaxing though he'd instructed her not to.  No, it could not be more of this.  She was breathy when she answered, "Something different, my lord.  I'm afraid I need the time it would take you to get a new instrument to regain my composure."  She was, after all, starkly honest in all things except when it suited her not to be.