And then the world changed. I’d been aware of the pandemic, had followed it in the news, but hadn’t given it much thought. It didn’t, as far as I’d heard, transfer to horses after all. The morning the lockdown was meant to start I was in the yard, grooming Rosie, when my mobile rang.

‘Good morning, John,’ said Julia into my ear. ‘Could you come up to the house please, I need to talk to you.’ I hadn’t seen Julia in a few days, since she’d stolen away in the small hours after the first session we’d had together in my house, and my bed.

I looked towards the house, thought I detected a figure at a first-floor window. ‘Okay, give me a few minutes to finish with Rosie and I’ll be right with you.’ I took my time finishing Rosie’s grooming; I think I wanted to show Julia that I wasn’t a lapdog that would just run to her when she called.

Mrs Brown wasn’t at her usual place, sitting outside the kitchen door having a smoke. She wasn’t in the kitchen either. Julia was in what was called the drawing room on the first floor. She’d left the window where I’d seen her call me and was sitting at the end of a low leather couch, back straight, knees together. She looked fantastic, as usual, her hair loose and falling in waves to her shoulders, dressed simply in a knee-length flared skirt and a loose jumper that looked as if it cost about as much as a small car. She looked a little nervous, I thought, but she gave me a warm smile and patted the couch next to her. Like a good little lapdog, I sat down beside her. I could have reached out and held her while I kissed her and then done some other things, and part of me very much wanted to do that. For some reason, being in close proximity to Julia had that effect on me, no matter how much I fought it. 

‘You’ll have heard about the virus. Covid 19,’ she said.

‘Yes, I have. And about the lockdown. Started today. Will you be staying here?’

She smiled. ‘This is my home. I don’t have anywhere else to go.’ This was a surprise; I’d thought she had a flat in London and a cottage in the Highlands. ‘What about you? Any thoughts?’ There was a sudden colour in her cheeks. Was she blushing? I got the idea, all at once, that she wanted me to stay there, with her. Her lockdown buddy.

‘Oh, I'll be fine in my cottage. Used to being on my own there. Quite like it. Prefer it really. Always got the horses to keep me company. To be quite honest, I don’t think it will really affect me at all.’ Famous last words, as they turned out to be.

‘You’ll have noticed Mrs Brown wasn’t at her post when you came in.’

‘She wasn’t in the kitchen either,’ I said wittily. ‘Have you killed her?’ 

‘Silly.’ She reached out and touched my nose with her finger. The simple touch almost made me jump as an electric charge surged between us. Or maybe that was just my imagination. ‘She’s off to stay with her sister somewhere up north for the duration. Which means I’ll be all alone in this big house. Only the bottles of expensive plonk in the cellar for company.’ She pouted, and understanding finally dawned. Was she asking me to isolate with her? Share her home during the lockdown? Her next words confirmed it. ‘Unless..unless someone else comes to join me. In my isolation. Someone else who could keep me company..and..discipline me if I were ever naughty. Someone who could perhaps roger me silly for as long as this lockdown lasts. Might be months.’ She gave me her best butter wouldn’t melt look. Now that I was certain what she wanted I had to decide what to do. It was only a few nights ago that she’d left me a note on the kitchen table when she slipped away in the small hours, and I hadn’t quite forgiven her for it. 

Then she gave me that look. Julia has a small, very attractive, snub nose, and when she looks at me in a certain way, that nose becomes the cutest nose anywhere. The look also turns her eyes into weapons of war. When she uses them, as she did then, I drown. Any issues I had about her, about how I thought she saw me - about whether I was her lapdog - disappeared. I did what she expected, or hoped, I would do. It was, after all, what I wanted to do as well. More than anything I’d ever wanted to do.

I smiled. Julia had been watching me carefully since she stopped speaking a full minute before, and when she saw my smile she smiled too. A wide smile that was part relief, part lascivious intent. She knew she’d won.  

I decided to get into role straight away. ‘Are you going to be naughty?’ I asked. ‘You’re the lady of the manor. You have responsibilities. You shouldn’t be naughty.’ My conversation was verging on the puerile, but in my defence, my blood was coursing through my veins at roughly twice its usual speed. And a fair bit of it was being directed straight to my groin. Julia noticed the growing bulge in my jeans and she raised an eyebrow. She tried her best to look serious.

‘I’m afraid I’m often naughty. Why, only this morning I broke a vase. Quite a valuable vase. And,’ she lowered her gaze to her knees, ‘it wasn’t an accident  - eek!’ 

The last sound was caused by me grabbing her around the waist and flinging her over my knee. The light skirt flew up, to show the most delectable behind, clad in delectable silk panties. They stretched enticingly over the rounded charms that now lay perfectly poised across my lap. 

‘I despair of you Julia,’ I said. ‘I’m going to have to take you in hand.’ And my right hand made contact with the tight silk with a smack that echoed around the room. 

‘Aaaah! How could you? Help! Oooow ow!’ 

Julia squirmed and bucked happily, her red hair brushing the carpet, her stocking-clad legs kicking, as I spanked away, until her cheeks turned a vivid red around the edges of the stretched silk. My hand smacked first the right cheek, then the left, then full over both, rapid-fire and without mercy. After a full minute of hard, stinging swats she had stopped squealing and had started to pant, and her squirming took on a new form, her legs rubbing together, her hands clutching me hard. I stopped. She twisted to look up at me.

‘Don’t you dare stop. Oh, I see. That’s all right then.’ She tensed her legs and lifted her hips as I slid the panties down, then bent her leg to help me free them. I flung them across the room, where they hung on a table lamp. 

Julia lowered her head again as I started spanking her bare, reddened, smarting backside in earnest. Julia liked her spankings to be hard, fast and relentless, so I gave it my all. A flurry of punishing blows from my hand, hard enough to raise blisters, had her squirming and crying out happily on my lap. I didn’t think about whether she had had enough, but when my cock was about to burst through my jeans I pulled her up and, half-carrying her to the back of the couch, bent her over, unbuckled my belt and slid my jeans down. 

Julia’s an attractive woman with a trim, lithe body, but her bottom, in my opinion, is her crowning glory. Right now it was cherry red, and there, glinting pinkly as she opened her legs wide to receive me, was the jewel in the crown. Her juices oozed out as I parted the lips of heaven with the head of my erection and slid smoothly inside, giving myself to her velvet embrace. I knew she was close to orgasm so I moved as little as possible, prolonging the ecstasy as much as I could, my groin pressed against the burning heat of her reddened cheeks. Julia’s hands clawed at the cushions as she whimpered and moaned, the muscles in her back tensing as her legs, splayed and straightened, trembled slightly. 

In the end, I hardly needed to move at all, just held myself in place, pulsing gently inside her, as she pushed back against me, her moans increasing until she cried out. ‘Aah! Jesus, fuck, coming, coming…’ Her back arched and her muscles tensed and spasmed as a tumultuous orgasm tore through her.

I was far from finished, however, and as Julia slid limply down the cushions on to the couch I was shrugging off my shirt and shaking my jeans and boxers from my legs. By the time I made it around the couch, she was sitting up, pulling her expensive jumper off. She eyed my swaying erection as she scrambled backwards, spreading her legs wide in welcome as I climbed aboard. Her eyes glinting, a filthy grin on her face, she grabbed my manhood with both hands and pulled me roughly into position above her. I hesitated a moment, poised at the gates, and gazed down at this exotic, beautiful, sexy woman urging me to fuck her senseless. Her breasts were full, nipples standing proud, her legs wide open to display her sex, her hips shamelessly angled to receive me. 

And, it seemed, in no mood to wait. ‘Come on, for fuck’s sake! Fucking fuck me!’

So I did what I was told. This time there was no holding myself in place, no subtlety; we went at it with reckless abandon. It wasn’t making love, it was lust, pure, uncontrolled and without pretense. It was glorious, joyful fucking. Julia threw her head back and laughed with carnal pleasure as I plunged in to the root and gave myself to the impulse, hammering into her with brute force, pounding her punished backside into the leather with fast, full thrusts. Her legs straightened, pointing to the ceiling, pinning me between the strong muscles of her thighs as her hands clawed at my shoulders, my back, and we became a single being, joined in primeval lust. I became aware of Julia’s moans and cries increasing in intensity and volume as she writhed beneath me, building and building, slowly at first, to another orgasm. 

'Aah, jesus, don’t stop, coming again, coming..Fuck!’ This was all the turn-on I needed and as I felt her muscles clasp tightly around my cock as she came, everything else disappeared and I became my orgasm, became a singularity, a point of muscle and gushing life force as I came and came, deep inside her. 

We lay entwined in sweaty, sticky abandon for an eternity, then my face was clasped, turned, and Julia’s mouth, alive and sexy, was on mine. We broke for air eventually, and then I was on my back, Julia looking down at me.

‘Come on,’ she said brightly, hands on my chest, ‘let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.’ In a single agile movement, she was standing, hands on hips, watching me. ‘Or sometimes anyway. Between fucks, Fantastic, wonderful fucks if they’re all as good as that.’ She was magnificent, naked but for her sheer stockings, red hair ravaged and wild, eyes shining.

Then she reached down, took my hand and pulled me to my feet. Together, naked, still holding hands, we padded through the silent, empty rooms to the sweeping central staircase, and then to the second floor, to a pair of double doors which she pushed open with a flourish.

The room was massive, with a bay window looking out towards the gardens, the stables and the fields and woods beyond, and dominated by a huge, four-poster bed. Julia took a quick run and launched herself on to it, where she lay coquettishly on her side with one leg raised. I held myself back for at least twenty seconds and then joined her.

That day, and the night that followed, made me want the lockdown to go on forever. The talk on the news was of this becoming a ‘new normal’. It sounded good to me. In the back of my mind the master/servant relationship lingered, but the sheer joy of being with a woman as downright sexy as Julia, a woman who wanted me as much as I wanted her, pushed it back until it wasn’t really there at all.

The first morning, I woke and for a moment had no idea where I was. The bed was warm, soft, luxurious, and the light creeping around the curtains was brighter than I was used to. Julia’s red hair was visible above the rumpled blankets, which I lifted gently. Her sleeping body took my breath away. She slept face down, perhaps because of the leathering her backside had taken last night. The rounded fullness of her bottom still bore the marks of the slipper we’d used and which had lit a fire in both of us that had taken some time to burn out. The sight of her firm, lithe, sexy body in repose, with the added attraction of her well-spanked backside, had a totally predictable effect on me, and I moved, as quietly as I could, to a position which would allow me to relieve the pressure that was building in a particular part of my anatomy. In short, I had a massive hard-on and a desire to do something with it that would make a good morning wake-up for both of us. 

At some point Julia woke, because by the time I had laid back the covers and moved down the bed her legs were sliding apart, and her back was arching in a particularly pleasing way, angling her hips towards me and making those reddened orbs project delightfully. I couldn’t help myself and planted a light kiss on each. The pink lips of her vulva were slightly parted and looked invitingly moist, and almost without thinking I probed them with my middle finger; it penetrated smoothly and brought forth an unmistakable sigh, although Julia’s eyes remained tightly closed. As I gently slid my finger out, then in again, feeling for that special place, the muscles of her lower back moved as her hips angled again, making her pussy more easily available. I was in need of some relief myself by this point, so I eased out my finger and took my place between Julia's legs, which moved further apart while I positioned myself. 

Julia’s back muscles tensed as I slowly, and ever so gently, introduced the head of my erection to the lips of her vagina. As it nudged past the lips and I slid in, smoothly, so smoothly, her hands clutched the bedclothes and she let out a little gasp, followed by a shuddering intake of breath. A low moan escaped her parted lips as I slid out and back in, maintaining the relaxed pace and feeling every inch as her tightness gripped me. I braced myself on my arms, the only point of contact my cock, as I fucked and fucked, slowly and deliberately, without a sound, not giving in to the temptation to go for it hammer and tongs. I was concentrating on making this euphoric, slow-motion ravishment last as long as possible; Julia was doing the same by maintaining her position as much as she could. Her eyes were now screwed shut, her hands clutching the bedclothes and her hips moving slightly with each slow thrust, raising slightly to meet me. 

Time seemed to stop. The only sounds were our breathing. Feeling was directed to a single point. I was in an almost trance-like state, until, at last, I felt a tightening beneath me as Julia started to gasp and moan, struggling to maintain her position as her legs started to tremble and her hands opened wide, only to clutch the bedclothes harder.

Her orgasm started building with such an intensity that I could feel it. I tensed every muscle as I tried not to change the speed of my thrusts, until I could hold on no longer. As Julia cried out I felt my cock twist and thicken inside her and I thrust deeply and pumped my seed inside the velvet softness. Even that seemed to be in slow motion, lasting an eternity, until I collapsed beside Julia, utterly spent. 

She turned her head towards me and opened her eyes for the first time. She wore a wide, satisfied smile, as I’m sure I did as well.  ‘Well, good morning to you, John,’ she said. She sat up and stretched languorously. ‘If this is the way our isolation’s going to go, I hope it lasts forever.’ 

I gave a satisfied noise and buried my head in the pillow, which smelled alluringly of Julia. The mattress moved and I jumped at a stinging slap on my backside. ‘Sorry, that was just too tempting. You lie there and get your breath back and I’ll get us some breakfast. Tea or coffee?’                

And that’s pretty much how the lockdown was for us. We managed to lead separate lives to some extent, but came together often, in both senses of the phrase. Julia seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on the phone - to her mother, to her friends, to Jasmine - and once, when I headed back for some lunch and whatever else was on the menu, leaving my muddy boots at the door. I heard laughter from the drawing room. When I reached the door I stopped. Julia was speaking to her old friend Samantha, who had competed with her at school to see who could get the most canings. Julia was standing beside the window, looking out.

‘But I’m not on my own here. No, not Mrs bloody Brown, she’s off with her sister. No, I’ve got John with me. John. From the stables.’ This was getting interesting. ‘That’s right, big John. And let me tell you, my girl, that title is well deserved. He’s fucking massive! Hung like a stallion. I walk around bow-legged all day.’

She listened for a while, then laughed. ‘God no, much more often than with Gerald. He was a once a week man. John’s three times a day! And I’ll tell you something else, he knows how to spank a girl. I’m fucking loving this lockdown. Yeh, I know I am. I am the luckiest bitch around. And you should see what arrived this morning,’ she said.

She half-turned, lifted a thin rod from the couch. ‘A nice set of canes. I’m holding the junior school cane right now, seems a bit light to me. Nice and whippy, though, listen,’ and she whipped the cane around her, holding the phone towards it. She put it down, lifted another, slightly thicker one. ‘I also got one called the office cane, which feels more like the one we used to get. Trouble is, I won’t know which is the right one until I feel it on my bottom.’

Time for an appearance. I strode into the room and picked up the cane she’d set down, then flexed it in my hands, adopting my sternest look. Just flexing it in my hands gave me a real sense of power, and had an immediate effect on my cock.

Julia turned towards me and paused her conversation with Samantha. A quite lascivious smile broke across her face. ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you, Sam. John’s here. And it looks like I’m in for a caning.’ She put the phone down and faced me. 

I had quickly got the hang of delivering a spanking the way Julia liked it, and which I won’t deny I got a lot of pleasure out of myself, but I had never used a cane before and had no idea how much force to use. That probably accounted for Julia’s reaction to that first stroke. She had quickly stripped down and taken a most alluring position, bent double in the middle of the floor. She assured me this was how it had been done at her school, and I was in no position to argue. Her ability to touch her toes with her legs straight was impressive, and said a lot about her level of fitness. And suppleness, I mused, as I moved behind her, just managing not to throw the cane down and take advantage of her position in another way. 

As usual, Julia’s impatience got the better of her. ‘I think six would be a good start. With that cane, anyway. And then perhaps the same with the other one, unless I become overcome with lust.’ 

‘Hmm.’ I said. ‘Never done this before, but the principle seems simple enough.’ And I positioned myself about a metre away from her rounded posterior, levelled the cane against both cheeks, drew back and let fly. The noise when that thin cane bit into Julia’s stretched skin was loud, but nothing as loud as Julia’s reaction. She straightened, howling, and clutched at her backside with both hands. Lifting her hands away gingerly, she twisted to inspect the damage. 

‘Perhaps a bit hard, that one. Remember, it’s been a long time since I’ve been caned. Now,’ she bent over, touched her toes once more, ‘let’s start again. Perhaps about half as hard for now.’ And she wiggled her backside, making the red line undulate delightfully. 

‘As you wish, madam,’ I said, took my position, and drew the cane back once more. I was careful to hold back a little. The thin cane swished down, to leave a thin red stripe across both cheeks.

‘Aaah! Much better. A nice sting. More please.’

The cane laid a line of fire over Julia’s backside another four times, leaving a crisscrossing of red lines and making it harder and harder for her to stay in position. At the end of the six strokes, she straightened and kneaded her punished backside with both hands, grimacing. ‘You know what, I think that will do for now. If you don’t mind, I’d very much like to be fucked right now.’

I was happy to oblige; the sound and effect of the cane whipping across Julia's backside had given me a hard-on which needed some attention.  

She draped herself alluringly over the arm of the couch and waited patiently while I stripped. A whimper escaped Julia’s throat as I edged my rock-hard erection past the lips of her pussy and smoothly filled her to the brim. She pushed herself back towards me, and I pulled back, slid back in, and out again, gradually increasing the speed and force of my thrusts, until I was slamming into her, groin slapping against her punished backside. I knew the effect the pleasure/pain combination usually had on Julia and this time was no exception.

She cried out  as she came, head thrown up, back arched. I took a deep breath, grabbed her hips and slammed into her to the hilt, pulling back immediately and driving in my full length, again and again, as she held on to the couch cushions for dear life. I felt my own orgasm build and build until I burst like a dam, gushing my life force deep inside her.

Later, much later, in the dining room, after the first glass of wine, Julia asked me how much of her conversation with Samantha I’d heard. 

‘Enough to know that you exaggerate when you speak to your friends.’

‘I have no idea what you mean,’ she said with a smile. ‘You are pretty big, you know, down there.’ She pointed an elegant finger. ‘You must know that.’ 

‘I don’t think I’m that special,’ I said. ‘If anything, it’s you that’s the special one. You’re quite the sexiest, most desirable person I’ve ever met. I deem it a singular honour to be your lockdown buddy. And to shag as often, and as joyously, as we do.’ I leaned across the table, took her hand and raised it to my lips. ‘I’m yours, Julia, now and after the lockdown. I don’t want to go back to my previous life, living alone in the cottage and seeing you from a distance.’

Julia smiled and raised my hand to her mouth, kissed it. ‘John,’ she said, ‘there’s nothing I’d like more...’ But I didn’t hear what she like nothing more than, because that’s when Jasmine walked back into our lives. She was carrying the cane I’d just used on Julia. 

‘Mum... What the fuck is this? What is HE doing here? And WHY are you kissing his hand? Would you mind telling me exactly what the FUCK is going on here?’