Almost Family

The Tates were a weird family. Ray sometimes wondered what he was letting himself in for by dating Laura.

"-I didn't expect to see you today," she said when she opened the door and saw him. She smiled but seemed unhappily surprised and something strange was going on with her eyes. She didn't open the door all the way but held it closed behind her as if she didn't want him to see something.

"Dad's in kind of a mood," she added, still trying to smile but looking anxious as well. "You should have called.."

Ray made himself smile but she'd caught him off balance, "Why, what's going on?"

A door slammed inside the house. He could hear her father's raised voice.

Laura shrugged, trying to appear casual, but her troubled expression didn't fit with the gesture, "-Oh, just... stuff."

She shook her head as if it was nothing. She was the prettiest and the oldest of the three Tate girls. Twenty, nineteen and eighteen. Until that moment Ray had thought she was the least strange member of the family as well but now he suddenly wasn't so sure.

"I have the afternoon off," he started to explain. "I thought we could catch a movie..."

She opened her mouth to say something but at that moment they both heard Laura's mother calling her.

"-I'm sorry, I can't," Laura whispered and cast an apprehensive glance over her shoulder.

Her mother's voice carried to the front door, "-Laura? Your father wants us all in the kitchen right away."

"I'm sorry. Really, but I have to go," Laura said.

Ray didn't get it at all. He was disappointed. He'd had it all figured out, first a movie, maybe a meal with the odds on chance of sex later.

"Laura, who is it? Close the door," her mother's voice was suddenly close. Ray thought she sounded anxious.

"I don't get it," he said, suddenly irritable. "What's going on?"

Laura seemed to have abandoned any hope of acting as if nothing was wrong. She looked embarassed and uncomfortable, "-I can't tell you now. Please, I have to go. It's Dad..."

She paused as the door was pulled fully open behind her. It was her mother, a slim, trim, good looking woman Ray had previously judged to be relatively level headed if a little put upon by her husband.

"Who are you talking to? Oh it's Ray... Hello Ray." Her smile was unconvincing. Whatever was troubling Laura Mrs Tate seemed to have it as well. She looked worried and unhappy and seeing him on her doorstep didn't seem to ease whatever burden she was labouring under.

"-He's just leaving," Laura told her, a little too quickly for Ray's liking.

He saw the awkward look the two of them exchanged. They looked equally embarassed. Whatever was going on it was clear it was a private Tate family thing.

Ray was starting to feel irritated by the whole charade. He was on the verge of turning away, he saw himself slamming his car door and flooring the accelerator on his way down the street, but Mr Tate suddenly shouted, breaking the awkward silence.

"-Do you think I want to wait all day? You're only making it worse for yourselves..." There was a warning in his tone and the sound of his voice rapidly grew closer and louder.

"How much longer do you intend to keep me waiting?" he demanded angrily.

Both women looked suddenly stricken when he appeared. He was a tall, well built, up tight, humourless and slightly intimidating individual. Ray was never quite sure how to take him.

Mr Tate paused, whatever else he had been about to say, put on hold as he first glared at the two women and then saw Ray.

There was a moment of silence and then everyone seemed to start talking at once.

Ray nodded and said, "Hello Mr Tate."

"He's just leaving," Laura hurried to explain.

"I just came out to see what was keeping Laura..." Mrs Tate said with a cautious glance at her husband.

Ray didn't know what the hell was going on. Mr Tate looked angry and bad tempered. He had one arm in a sling. Laura and her mother looked nervous and uncomfortable and Ray was already beginning to wish he'd stayed in work instead of wasting his time making plans. -Scratch the movie, scratch the meal, or the hope of anything else.

He saw Mr Tate draw a deep, impatient breath as the two women hurriedly tried to explain the delay. They seemed extremely anxious to placate him. At the same time there were footsteps in the hall and Ray guessed it was Laura's two younger sisters coming out to join the fun. He thought Mr Tate might explode but instead he raised his good hand to call for silence and both women immediately obeyed.

The front door was now wide open and all the Tates were gathered there. Ray decided the sooner he made his excuses and got into his car and got out of there the better. Mr Tate seemed to be studying him with a curiously thoughtful expression that he found a little unnerving. Laura still had the same apprehensive look in her eyes. Mrs Tate looked truly ill at ease. The two younger daughters showed their pale, worried faces behind their father.

"-Look, I'd probably better be going," Ray began. He saw relief and gratitude in Laura's eyes and hurried on. "I just stopped by on the off-chance..."

He paused as Mr Tate interrupted, "You know, actually, perhaps you should come inside Ray. You're almost family." He smiled unexpectedly, not a particularly attractive smile, but more the smile of a man who was warming to a new thought that had just occurred to him. He seemed not to hear the collective gasps of dismay or see the uncertain looks exchanged between his wife and daughters. "Yes, of course," he continued, looking abruptly exceptionally pleased with himself. "That's it. You must come inside. Of course you must. This is a family matter... but as I said, you're almost family..."

Ray was too surprised to answer. He was aware of the reaction caused by Mr Tate's unexpected invitation. Mrs Tate suddenly looked at him and blushed furiously. Laura looked as if she wished the ground would open and swallow her.

Ray started to decline but Mr Tate was suddenly enthusiastic and was already stepping aside to make room, giving orders, and gesturing with his good arm urging him inside.

"-Ray? Laura, don't stand in the way. Samantha, get Ray a cup of coffee please. Unless you'd prefer a beer, Ray?"

The next thing he knew they were all inside the Tate's hallway and everyone was moving towards the kitchen. Laura was trying to catch his eye and casting wary glances at her father. Mrs Tate led the way, hurrying. Her two younger daughters following close behind.

"-Coffee's fine, I'm driving," Ray answered absently, not entirely sure when he'd made the decision to actually step inside.

Mr Tate loomed beside him, suddenly his friend and confidante. "Do you know the secret of happy family life Ray?" He was looking ahead at his family. Mrs Tate had already stepped into the bright sunlit kitchen.

Ray saw a picture perfect bowl of fruit on the table and the gleam of sunlight on clean, polished chrome. As he listened to Mr Tate he realised that all the times he'd been there before he'd never once heard any of the Tates arguing or disagreeing about even the smallest thing. It struck him just how unusual that must be.

Mr Tate let Ray through into the kitchen before him and closed the door. Mrs Tate was waiting with a cup of coffee for both men. Their three daughters stood quietly in the background, all three attractive, all dressed in light feminine summer clothes Ray saw. Laura glanced at him and quickly looked away. Both of her sisters lowered their eyes. They all seemed to be waiting for their father to speak, even Mrs Tate, who smiled nervously then stepped back and smoothed her skirt when Ray took his coffee.

Mr Tate's smile seemed a little off centre as he looked at his family and Ray immediately became aware of the undercurrent of controlled nervous tension in the air. It came in pretty feminine waves from Mrs Tate and her daughters, all of them seemed oddly apprehensive and uncomfortable. He realised he was somehow adding to their discomfort. None of them, not even Laura, would meet his curious gaze. It seemed clear his unexpected arrival had thrown some kind of spanner in the works. He had the feeling he was interrupting something

"The secret to a happy family life is discipline," Mr Tate revealed. He sipped his coffee as he looked at Ray and now there was a new, almost feverish gleam in his eyes.

He set his coffee on the table and studied his assembled family with a warm paternal gaze. Ray noticed that Mrs Tate and her three daughters were all looking at Mr Tate with expressions that seemed a mixture of apprehension and starry eyed contentment.

Mr Tate seemed to dominate the large, bright kitchen, he had a presence, an air of authority Ray had never been aware of before. It was the watchful faces of his family that most struck him. Laura even smiled at her father, shyly, cautiously. Her eyes were shining and there were bright spots of colour on her cheeks.

Ray glanced at her sisters and then her mother and realised that all of them now wore the same doe eyed expressions of devotion.

"-Discipline Ray," Mr Tate said. "It needn't be something to fear." He smiled proudly, "Corrrection when it's warranted is a kindness, a demonstration of affection. I'm sure you agree?"

Ray nodded dumbly. He wasn't sure if he agreed or not. Something strange and unexpected was going on, that was the only thing he was sure of at that moment.

He glanced at Laura who met his troubled gaze and this time she didn't look away. She seemed less dismayed by his presence than when he'd first arrived. Now she drew herself up and raised her chin and held his gaze and he thought how beautiful and proud she looked.

Mr Tate continued, "I think, as you're almost family, you should be part of this as well."

Ray saw Laura's shy smile even as her blush deepened. Her sisters were also looking at him with curious, interested, slightly cautious expressions. Mrs Tate's expression was the warmest and most direct of all. Ray found himself staring at her, unable to look away.

"-Anne?" Mr Tate said and Ray watched as Laura's youngest sister blushed attractively and stepped forward. "It's a tradition that the youngest goes first," Mr Tate explained. Now he reached out and touched his daughter's hair with his good hand while she smiled and waited and never once took her eyes from her father's face.

It was very quiet in the kitchen. Ray could hear a clock ticking somewhere in another room. The outside world seemed a million miles away. There was a sense of anticipation in the air and everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Mr Tate was thinking and now he appeared to reach a decision. His voice was soft and deep and not unkind when he said, "-The paddle, I think. Six for Anne..."

Ray saw how bright her eyes were. The ghost of a nervous smile touched her lips and she glanced quickly at Ray as if she was in some way pleased that he was there.

Mrs Tate turned away and opened a drawer. Cutlery rattled inside. She returned with a thin, flat, polished piece of wood about a foot long from handle to end and passed it to her husband. Everything had an air of ceremony about it.

Mr Tate smiled and thanked her. He held the paddle a little awkwardly, "I'm afraid I'm not so good with my left hand but we'll see how it is."

Ray had noticed how Anne's gaze followed the paddle from her mother to her father. Now, as Mr Tate nodded to her, she turned away with her back straight and her arms held neatly at her side. She reminded Ray of a young gymnast about to demonstrate her proficiency before a panel of judges. He saw Mrs Tate smile gently.

"Pain and love," Mr Tate said. "Two of the most powerful emotions we feel." He moved the paddle experimentally then watched as Anne meekly bent over before him. She touched her toes and her hair hung about her face.

Ray felt his heart pounding as Mrs Tate stepped forward and raised Anne's skirt. She draped it over her daughter's back with the dignified air of a master of ceremonies. When she stepped aside Ray found himself staring at Anne's shapely bottom. Her panties were white. His gaze was drawn to the shape of her pussy clearly revealed through the thin, stretched material.

"Remember the rules Anne?" Mr Tate asked and Ray watched as he positioned himself and carefully measured the distance with the paddle.

"-No noise-," Laura whispered. Ray looked at her but she seemed oblivious to his presence.

He returned his attention to Anne and Mr Tate. He couldn't quite believe what was happening until he actually saw Mr Tate draw the paddle back and then bring it sharply forward.

The sound was loud, like a hard, flat slap. Anne swayed but she didn't cry out.

"Good girl," Mrs Tate whispered. There was a bright, eager light in her eyes.

Mr Tate used the paddle again. The sound was as loud as before. It looked and sounded painful. This time he saw how Anne's bottom trembled.

He watched the paddle. He couldn't quite believe that he was witnessing what was happening or that they should all seem to want him to be there to witness it.

There was something slow and deliberate and shocking about Anne's paddling. It seemed almost a ritualised punishment with Mr Tate taking his time and the other women looking on. Ray felt a rush of conflicting emotions as the paddle slowly rose and fell. He almost wanted to avert his eyes but at the same time he was fascinated and found himself anticipating the moment the paddle smacked against Anne's vulnerable bottom.

"It's not the same left handed," Mr Tate said when it was done. "I can't get the same feeling, you know?" He looked at Ray as if he was talking about something as ordinary as trying to play table tennis with the wrong hand and added, "You haven't touched your coffee."

Ray was dumbfounded. He sipped his coffee as Anne straightened and her skirt fell back into place. Her face was red as she rejoined her sisters.

"Very good Anne," Mr Tate complimented her absently. He looked at his wife, "I think you should take over for Claire."

Mrs Tate nodded and took the paddle with all the reverance of a devotee accepting the care of a sacred object.

Ray saw the next sister in line step forward. Claire was nineteen, full chested and round hipped. She looked at Mr Tate expectantly.

"Ten, I think, for Claire," he said after a moments consideration.

Mrs Tate took a chair from the table and sat down with the paddle in one hand and Mr Tate looked at Ray, "-Samantha prefers to do it sitting down," he explained.

Claire stepped forward without hesitation and Ray felt himself becoming aroused as he watched her carefully position herself over Mrs Tate's lap. They all watched in silence as Mrs Tate raised her second oldest daughter's skirt. Ray was aware that he was staring but he couldn't help himself. Claire's panties were pale pink edged with lace.

When they were both ready Mrs Tate looked up at her husband.

"I expect it all seems very strange to you Ray," Mr Tate said. "-But it's really the best way to maintain discipline. I would hope that one day in the future, should the need ever arise, you would be man enough to chastise Laura in the same way."

Ray looked at Laura and saw her blush but she didn't look away and he felt a shock of excitement, a sudden quickening of his pulse as he recognised the look of desire in her eyes as they stared at each other.

"-I.." he hesitated, surprised at the depth of emotion he felt. Laura smiled gently and cautiously nodded and Ray heard himself agreeing, "I will, if the need ever arises..."

He blushed suddenly, aware that they were all watching him, even Claire had raised her head and was trying to look his way to catch his words.

Mrs Tate beamed at him while Mr Tate's reaction was a little more restrained. He nodded slowly then looked thoughtfully at Ray a moment longer before turning to his wife.

"-How many did I say?"

"Ten!" all four women answered at the same time

"A bare bottomed ten, I think," Mr Tate decided. He seemed more like the genial host of a game show awarding spot prizes than the slightly intimidating man Ray had imagined him to be.

They love him, he realised. They all love him and he loves them.

He watched as Mrs Tate carefully pulled Claire's panties down. Ray had a perfect view. His cock strained as he looked at Claire's large, bare bottom. Her legs had been together but now as Mrs Tate eased her daughter's panties down to her knees Claire's legs parted slightly giving him a shadowy but unobstructed view of her pussy.

"Count," Mrs Tate whispered and raised the paddle and brought it down.

Ray thought she used it harder than her husband, with a greater willingness. Claire's left leg jerked into the air as the paddle landed.

"-One..." the word seemed to be squeezed from her lips.

Ray glanced at Laura, both she and Anne were silently counting along, their eyes bright with excitement.

"Two.." Claire gasped.

Mr Tate stood nearby, watching closely. Ray saw him casually reach down to adjust himself through his trousers.

"-Three..." Claire whispered after a pause. Her leg was bent again and she lowered it slowly.

"Four," Ray whispered as the paddle cracked again. Claire's bottom shook and the paddle left a red imprint on her pale skin.

"-Five..." Mrs Tate mouthed the word, all of her attention devoted to what she was doing.

Ray watched the paddle. The polished wood shone and his cock stiffened again.

"Six...." Claire counted breathlessly, the sound of the word distorted by pain.

Ray had never seen or imagined anything remotely like it.

When it was over and Claire slowly got to her feet her panties slipped the rest of the way down her legs and she left them on the floor where they lay.

"-It's not punishment for the sake of punishment, you understand Ray?" Mr Tate began. He seemed not to care that the shape of his hard cock was now clearly visible inside his dark trousers.

Mrs Tate was still sitting down. Claires panties lay nearby. The three sisters stood in a line and watched their father.

"There are tasks I expect my family to do, they don't always do them, or sometimes they don't complete them to my satisfaction and have to be punished." He was looking at his daughters but now he turned to Ray, "They all understand why it's necessary, you see? I think that's important."

Ray nodded. He was uncomfortably aware that his own erection was showing through his jeans. Claire and Anne and Laura and Mrs Tate could see that he was aroused by what had taken place. He should have felt more embarassed but he didn't. Getting hard seemed a part of it too. He realised they all understood that.

They were all hanging on Mr Tate's every word.

"I'm strict but fair," he added. "And this is my duty and my right." He took the paddle from his wife, "Now since you're almost family and it's now Laura's turn....."

He left the sentence unfinished and gravely offered the paddle to Ray who suddenly understood from the rapt, smiling faces of the women that they all regarded the gesture as a kind of honour.

His hand shook as he put his coffee cup on the table. They were all looking at him, Mr Tate serious and unsmiling, the Tate women wide eyed and watchful. He didn't know what to say.

"-Why..? Why, why," he was suddenly sweating.

Mr Tate raised his eyebrows, "-Why? Because she deserves it." He paused, "And Laura wants you to."

"We all want you to," Mrs Tate added then glanced warily at her husband as if she had spoken out of turn.

Ray looked at their faces. He looked at the paddle. Laura stood with her hands clasped before her chest as if waiting for his answer. Claire and Anne both stared at him. They all seemed to be willing him on. He felt the tension in the air, it was as if they were all holding their breath, waiting for him.