Chapter 21 - A problem, a question, and a solution

The following day the reception area of the University Memorial Center was reserved for conferences and the visiting Danubian leaders. The university president, the governor, and several local politicians and union leaders awaited the foreign delegation, while Cecilia Sanchez and Cynthia Lee stood waiting with the group of graduate students. A large banner hung in front of the building with the inscription:

Doc-Doc Danube! � Our university welcomes our Danubian guests

The Danubians arrived in a convoy of cars owned by the university. There were no limousines, because the Prime Minister was concerned that riding around in a limousine on an overseas trip while many of his own citizens still were without adequate housing would not be appropriate. Prime Minister Dukov and his daughter Anyia got out of the university president�s car together, followed by about 20 other members of the party. Dukov�s appearance was not imposing at all. He was dressed in a very ordinary business suit. He looked like he was in his mid-50s, average height and stature, his hair closely cropped, and very ordinary features. Still, even at a distance, Cecilia could tell there was something about him�something in his character that set him apart.

As previously instructed, a student from the Music School unrolled one of the Danubian flags, clipped it to a staff, and passed it to the Prime Minister�s daughter. Anyia was wearing a traditional Danubian dress and had her hair braided in the traditional Danubian style. However, being only 17, she looked somewhat uneasy standing in a foreign university in her formal attire. Anyia took the flag, briefly knelt, and then stood up facing eastwards holding the staff to the side at a 45-degree angle. Then she did something that shocked the US audience: she let out an ear-piercing whistle. The delegation immediately faced to the east, placed their right fists against their left shoulders, and shouted:

�DOC-DOC DANUBE!�

That was the cue for the university band to start playing the military prelude to the Danubian national anthem. There was a pause, and then Anyia crisply tilted the flag upright while the band played an ancient-sounding tune which was sung by the guest singer from California. Dukov and his party stood at attention with their fists pressed against their left shoulders while his daughter continued to hold the flag upright.

The U.S. anthem was played next. The Danubians stood quietly at attention while their hosts sang. The exchange of anthems was followed by several welcoming speeches by the university president, the state governor, and the director of Burnside�s economic foundation. Dukov then stepped forward and thanked his hosts in accented, but very correct English. He introduced the members of his cabinet who had accompanied him. His Minister of Finance and his Minister of Foreign Relations stood behind him, but also present was the Danubian Minister of Education and the Minister of Health. Each minister had a translator and two assistants. There were no relatives on the trip, just members of the government. As for the Prime Minister�s daughter, even her presence had an official purpose. Danubian tradition mandated that during an official ceremony the national flag had to be presented in the hands of an unmarried young woman, preferably either a member of the Danubian Royal Family or the daughter of the most important public official present.

Although Dukov�s visit officially was a private trip, his reasons for travelling to Chicago were not private at all. He knew that a systematic effort to rebuild the fire-damaged regions of his country could not wait much more than a few months, since many of the fire victims still were living in temporary housing two years after having been burnt out of their homes. However, he also knew that a reconstruction plan not centered around a solid economic development policy would be a huge waste of money and in the long run do more harm to the region than good. A �quick fix� had been the campaign strategy of his opponents in the previous year�s election. He had dismissed a �quick fix�, but he knew the people of the eastern regions had waited long enough. The area�s economic infrastructure needed to rebuild, and the rebuilding would at least have to be well underway by the end of the next summer.

Prime Minister Vladim Dukov had chosen to visit Chicago for a specific reason. Ruth Burnside, Jim Halsey, and several other leading economists at Cecilia�s university were members of a major national economic think-tank called the Greater Mid-Western Foundation for Economic Development and International Cooperation. Because of the institution�s cumbersome name, everyone simply referred to it as �the Foundation�. What set the Foundation apart from most other US economic think tanks was the organization�s cautious approach to globalization and its members� rejection of purist Neo-Liberal philosophies. Dukov wanted to develop an economic strategy for his country that would assure that modernizing the Danubian economy would not undermine the country�s famed social stability. The Foundation�s philosophy matched the overall philosophy of the new Danubian government, and Dukov came to Chicago looking for advice that he could apply in his own country. His Minister of Finance was an economist, and prior to his current assignment, had been the Director of Economic Studies at the National University in Danube City. He was ready to discuss economic theory with his hosts, with the hope there would be a follow-up meeting later in the spring between Foundation members and a delegation from the Danubian Ministry of Finance.

It turned out that Dukov�s visit was more ambitious than his hosts had envisioned, because he wanted to address much more than the redevelopment of his country�s fire-damaged regions. He approached the mayor of the city with his Minister of Health, asking that the official, his translator, and his two assistants be given a complete tour of the city�s drug zones and briefings about what local officials were doing to reduce Chicago�s drug problem. He then approached the president of the university and separated the Minister of Education from his group, asking the two officials to discuss the prospects of a student exchange between his hosts� institution and the National University in Danube City.

With his Ministers of Finance and Foreign Relations, Dukov approached the faculty members of Economics Department and asked about the meeting schedule. He passed copies of the schedule to his two ministers, translated some of their questions into English to clarify what actually would be happening at the meetings, and asked his hosts to try to expand the range of topics to be covered over the next week.

Burnside and her associates looked at each other in surprise. Dukov obviously was a man on a mission. There was nothing rude or abrasive about his behavior, but he was making it clear to everyone that he was taking his visit very seriously and wanted to get the most out of his week in Chicago. He was not interested in socializing; he was interested in getting help and advice for his government.

However, Dukov�s humble origins became clear as he made it a point to greet everyone present, professors, graduate students, and assistants alike. Cecilia and Cynthia Lee were standing in the group of graduate students. Dukov greeted the graduate students right after he shook hands with the professors. He very warmly greeted Cynthia, obviously holding back the urge to give her a big hug from one close friend to another. Then he greeted Cecilia.

�I understand you are Kimberly�s friend Cecilia Sanchez?�

Cecilia�s heart jumped at being referred to as �Kimberly�s friend� and at the simple fact the Danubian Prime Minister already knew who she was.

�Y�Yes, Prime Minister Dukov�I�m Cecilia.�

�I am quite pleased to meet you. Kimberly informed me that you have been of considerable assistance to her musical endeavors, so I consider your presence here an honor.�

Again Cecilia�s heart jumped. �Th�Thank you, sir. I�m very honored to meet you as well.�

�Very well, Cecilia. I would be pleased if you could accompany Cynthia to have dinner with us tomorrow night. Also, Kimberly entrusted a package to me, which she asked me to deliver to you. You may retrieve it from Anyia�my daughter, you will understand.�

�Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.�

With that he passed her a card, an invitation to a formal dinner the next night. He warmly shook her hand, and moved on. Ruth Burnside, who had overheard the exchange, glanced at her with a completely perplexed expression. Her little sophomore scholarship student, who just two years before had been living in a New Jersey public housing project, had been invited to have dinner with the leader of a nation.

For several long minutes Cecilia had a very hard time getting her breath back, she was so excited.

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That night Dukov gave a press conference, facing down hostile reporters who asked critical questions about his government�s independent foreign policy, his confrontations with Mega-Town and other major trans-national corporations, and Upper Danubia�s human rights record. He was asked about his government�s widespread use of forced public nudity and periodic corporal punishments to discipline convicted criminals. He responded:

�My nation�s attitude towards punishing criminals has remained the same for many years. Life for a convicted criminal in our country is not pleasant, but a pleasant existence is not the goal of our judicial system. The goal we have for the criminal is learning respect, learning how to reform, and learning how to lead a useful life, even while serving a sentence. We do not place people in cages. We do not cut them off from their families and from all usefulness to the community. Instead we strive to re-incorporate our criminals into society and return them to their families the day after they are sentenced. And is what you are suggesting more humane? Think about that. The Danubian nation is the only country in the world that has no jails or prisons. Before you critique our judicial system, I would ask you to compare how many criminals in the Danubian nation re-offend, and how many in the United States re-offend. I believe those statistics speak for themselves. Because of those statistics, I believe that our judicial system is far superior to yours. The United States criminal justice system has failed to protect your society, and its failure is evident for all of us to see quite plainly. If you still wish to condemn my country�s judicial system, may I suggest that you are doing so based on your cultural preconceptions, and not on the facts? �

The more she heard Dukov speak, the more Cecilia admired him. He proved himself to be very hard-headed, but when he countered another person�s argument, he made sure he understood the other person�s opinion before giving his own. It became quite clear why Jason�s father hated him so much, because he was not willing to give an inch unless he felt doing so would benefit the people who had elected him to be the Prime Minister of his country. What was worse for people like Mr. Schmidt and his clients was that Dukov combined his hard-headedness and shrewdness with strong personal values and idealism. He was surrounded by equally idealistic, shrewd and hard-headed traditionalists determined to defend their nation�s society and values. If they stood in the way of some foreign company wanting to make money, that did not concern them in the least.

After the press conference Cecilia and Cynthia sought out Dukov�s daughter, who seemed a bit overwhelmed by her first trip overseas. Cecilia approached Anyia about the package, after Cynthia greeted her and talked to her for a few minutes in Danubian. Anyia spoke only a little English, not being nearly as fluent as her father. Dukov�s daughter dug into a document carrier and handed over a cube-shaped package. Through the language barrier she struggled to explain:

�Geemberglee, she say me, I give music to you, Cecilek. Then you give music to boyfriend grandma. Please give to boyfriend grandma, and she listen to music.�

The package was a box of CD�s with a note on it. It read:

�For Mrs. Schmidt. This is a complete collection of what our group has put out so far. I am happy that our music has brought pleasure into your life, and I hope you enjoy our latest CD�s. � Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna # 98945�.

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The next day Cecilia realized how important Dukov considered Cynthia Lee as the graduate student accompanied him from meeting to meeting. Cynthia found herself in the awkward position of relaying requests and orders to the professor hosting the conference, essentially being tasked by the Danubian Prime Minister to tell the sponsors what changes he wanted in the meeting venue as some of his questions were answered and others arose. The professors were somewhat irritated at having to take orders from a graduate student, but Cindy�s importance in Dukov�s life was undeniable. Without her, he would not have won the previous year�s election.

As they got ready to have dinner with Dukov and his daughter that night, Cynthia relayed some interesting news to Cecilia, information that directly affected the road dispute between Upper Danubia and the EU that she had researched for Ruth Burnside. Kim�s sister had gone over to Dukov�s hotel the previous evening to have a private dinner with the Prime Minister and his daughter. Dukov confided that the reason his government had waited to begin reconstruction in the east was because he was hoping to resolve several problems simultaneously, of which the fire damage was only one.

Dukov�s most important ambition was to formalize his country�s southern border, and then form an alliance with his southern neighbor to re-negotiate the proposed commercial road on terms far more favorable to both countries at the expense of the rest of the EU. Because of its desire to secure its territory and obtain an ally, the government of Upper Danubia�s southern neighbor was willing to negotiate a permanent border treaty that offered very good terms to the Danubians.

The problem Dukov faced in formalizing the country�s border was not the southern neighbor, but his own people. The Danubians had never fully accepted the loss of Lower Danubia to the Ottoman Empire in 1502. What complicated the country�s territorial claims on the former Lower Danubia was a treaty signed with the Ottomans in 1896 that ceded a portion of Lower Danubia back to the Duchy, even though the territory in question no longer was under Turkish control at the time. What arose from that questionable treaty was an unrealistic hope of regaining Lower Danubia, even though no Danubians had lived there since the early 16th Century.

Dukov was willing to formally cede most of the territory in question to his southern neighbor. In exchange for abandoning the land claims, Upper Danubia would reclaim some actual territory and extend its southern border slightly. Included in the transfer would be some archeological sites, a couple of historic villages that had ancient Danubian architecture, two towns on the other side of the border that still were inhabited mostly by ethnic Danubians, and some surrounding farmland. Dukov hoped to exchange historical claims on a large area to regain a much smaller area, but one with significance for his country. He calculated that the Danubian Parliament would grudgingly accept the new treaty, if it meant actually returning the two towns and the historical sites back to Danubian control.

Dukov planned to sign a second treaty with his counterpart upon signing the border treaty. The second document would be an agreement for both leaders to jointly negotiate the planned trade corridor with the EU. Then, with the backing of the neighboring government, Dukov would re-open negotiations to build the road through eastern Upper Danubia. With the support of his neighbor as an ally, he then planned to drive as hard a bargain as possible for allowing construction of the road.

There was a single issue that had held up Dukov�s plan. That concern was a 10th Century church, castle, and cemetery located on a hilltop in a small town called Sumy Ris, nearly 100 kilometers south of the border. Sumy Ris was of huge historical significance to the Danubians, because its church was the first Christian church built in the Danubian kingdom and the cemetery contained the remains of several kings and bishops from the Middle Ages. No treaty that excluded regaining the site would be acceptable to the Danubian Clergy, but attempting to negotiate extending Upper Danubia�s border that far south was completely unrealistic. Dukov was not particularly concerned about reclaiming the church given all the other problems he was trying to resolve, but he could not afford a confrontation with the Danubian Clergy.

Cindy Lee was totally disgusted at the problem.

�I can�t believe how stupid people can be. The Danubians need that treaty. It�s gonna give them almost everything they really want, but all they can think about is that stupid church. It�s really a good treaty for them, and if they don�t take it, the country�s gonna get screwed later on.�

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That night Cecilia�s heart pounded when she saw the arrangement for dinner. There were four large tables for the four Ministers. Each Minister was to be seated at a separate table, with his assistants, translator, and the members of the Foundation or university faculty with whom he had been working throughout the day. As for Dukov�s table, there were only eight seats. He would eat with his daughter and an administrative assistant, with Cynthia and Cecilia as his guests. The only other people at the table were a translator and an older couple who seemed to be close friends of the Prime Minister. Cecilia later learned they were Alexi Havlakt, who was a retired defense attorney with whom Dukov had worked many years, and his wife.

The purpose of the dining arrangement was to allow Dukov to talk privately with Cynthia, but also to allow him to talk to Cecilia. Upon learning Cecilia�s life story he became interested in getting to know her better. Cecilia began by discussing her scholarship and her on-line relationship with Kimberly Lee, but soon she realized that Dukov was much more interested in hearing about her life while she was growing up. He discussed his thoughts about the US judicial system and wanted to know how Cecilia felt about her brothers� gang activities. He also was interested in knowing what set her apart from her peers and what drove her to graduate and escape from her neighborhood. As she confided her life story, Cecilia eventually realized what he wanted, as a former defense attorney he wanted her perspective on why US society had failed her family and her neighborhood. The Prime Minister never had met anyone like Cecilia Sanchez before. She stood out, and her experiences in life could give him a different view of the United States and an opportunity to learn more about the society�s strengths and weaknesses.

The conversation shifted to Cecilia�s research and the road-building dispute with the EU. Cecilia talked about Jason�s father and what she knew about Mega-Town Associates. Dukov probed Cecilia�s knowledge, trying to get her perspective on the corporation that had attempted to take over his country. The conversation then shifted to the election and Cynthia�s research for her dissertation. There was a lengthy discussion about Cindy�s work, to which Dukov made several suggestions to help her improve the project.

Cindy was interested in talking about the negotiations on the border and the impasse over the church. As she previously had mentioned to Cecilia, Dukov was perfectly willing to leave the historical site out of the treaty, but the Danubian Clergy would not allow it. He sighed.

�You will understand that I have discussed the political dilemma with my counterpart, and of course, he has his own concerns that he shared with me. There are many people to the south who do not wish to surrender any territory to the Danubian nation, so he faces as difficult a situation surrendering territory as I face relinquishing our land claims.�

Cindy then made an off-handed remark about a consulate located in Upper Danubia�s southern neighbor, a sizable compound located in a provincial capitol S�kut Tok that had just relocated to better service Danubians traveling by land to visit places like Turkey and Greece.

As desert was served, the idea of the consulate stuck in Cecilia�s mind. Finally she had a question:

�Prime Minister Dukov, I was curious about somethin�. What would happen if you moved your consulate to that place where the church is�you know, like, buy that land and put your consulate there? Then you could put up your flag, but they wouldn�t be givin� up any more land. Wouldn�t that solve everybody�s problem?�

Dukov froze; a fork full of dessert cake suspended in his hand. He looked at Cecilia.

�No one ever considered that. I have spoken to many people on this issue, but no one ever mentioned incorporating the church as part of a consulate. Yes indeed, that would allow us to regain sovereignty over the property with minimal sacrifice from our neighbors.�

He translated Cecilia�s question to Alexi Havlakt. The older man�s face lit up. He looked over at her.

�Doc-doc harash dumalesh, Cecilek. Doc-doc harash dumalesh.�

Cindy translated. �Mr. Havlakt thinks that�s a great idea.�

�So�sir�you mean, that no one ever thought about that?�

�No, Cecilia. The closest we ever came was suggesting a sovereign enclave in Sumy Ris, which, of course, was not acceptable to our neighbors. Our consulate in S�kut Tok is rather large, and I do not perceive there would be much difficulty surrendering its land for a piece of land in Sumy Ris that would be comparable in size, but of much greater importance to us.�

With that Dukov told his assistant to fetch his Minister of Foreign Relations. He stood up and spoke to the Minister in Danubian, but Cecilia could make out the words: �consulatokt�, �S�kut Tok�, �Sumy Ris�, and �Doc-doc�. The Foreign Minister nodded and glanced at Dukov�s guest with an approving expression. The two men then saluted each other. The Foreign Minister then returned to his table to excuse himself and left the room to make some phone calls to Foreign Ministry Office in Danube City.

The dinner ended only a few minutes later, but the Prime Minister had some final words for Cecilia.

�I have been very pleased to have you sit at my table, and share our time and knowledge. I would ask one more favor of you, that you honor us with your presence at the closing banquet Friday night. I will supply an invitation that you may retrieve from Dr. Halsey, for you and for a guest.�

Cecilia, her eyes wide with excitement and her hands shaking slightly; bade goodbye to the Danubian Prime Minister. Once again she struggled to catch her breath as the Danubians withdrew from the room.

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The next morning Cecilia sat in Burnside�s office as the two women discussed the dinner the night before. Cecilia summarized what had happened at Dukov�s table and the apparent enthusiasm over her suggestion about moving the consulate from S�kut Tok to Sumy Ris. Burnside commented:

�I think that idea will fly. The reason I say that is the other side has a bunch of problems, including another pending border dispute. They need to get the Danubian border settled and move their troops, ASAP. They need to get Dukov on their side, and I think your consulate idea will give everyone a way out. The Danubians owe you one.�

Burnside paused, and then leaned forward, looking intensely into Cecilia�s eyes.

�Prime Minister Dukov likes to think outside the box. He�s always looking around for new perspectives and experiences to bounce off his own knowledge, which is why I think he wanted to talk to you. And, you delivered. You came up with something that never occurred to anyone else. Move the consulate�what a simple solution; and no one thought of it. All I can say is I�m impressed with you, and I�m not shy about admitting that.�

�I�I don�t know what to say Dr. Burnside, except I do hope they get their problem solved, but anyhow, thanks for�what you said about me��

Burnside gave Cecilia a somewhat ironic smile. �Well, don�t let it go to your head. You did your good deed for the moment and now we�ll be moving on. We do have a semester to finish up, don�t we?�

With that Burnside, her TA, and her scholarship student headed off to the lecture room, carrying presentation supplies and a stack of pop-quizzes for the surviving freshmen remaining in the class.

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The regime of nightly massages and nightly orgasms continued throughout the week in Cecilia�s room. No matter how late she got back from her duties at the conference, she expected Jason to be ready to come over, get undressed, and give her a lengthy massage followed by an orgasm. Following the orgasm she promptly went to sleep, forcing him to leave the room with his own sexual urges unfulfilled. Jason was disappointed, but he reminded himself that his purpose in life was to make her happy and to satisfy her needs. As for his own needs, he needed to learn self-discipline and appreciate the sexual satisfaction she was able to give him.

Thursday, however, Cecilia was in the mood for something different. During her lunch hour she went to an adult toy store to look at their selection of restraints and discipline items. She did not have very much money on her, but she was determined to buy something with which she could experiment on Jason.

She got into a conversation with a young woman working at the store. She confided about her relationship with Jason and how she was able to excite him by putting him over her lap. The store clerk showed her the store�s selection of punishment implements. The clerk obviously was a masochist and had first-hand knowledge of how each of the implements felt on her unprotected bottom. As they conversed about the physical sensations each implement inflicted on its victim, the clerk gave her customer short lessons on how to use a cane, a crop, and a flogger. She gave Cecilia her personal perspective as a masochist as she discussed her own experiences at the hands of her lover, emphasizing the importance of balancing fear, anticipation, pain, and pleasure. Her client listened intently, realizing that the clerk�s personality and needs were very similar to Jason�s personality and needs.

Finally Cecilia settled on a leather paddle. The paddle was oval shaped and not large at all. It was about as long as a Ping-Pong paddle but slightly narrower. She liked the feel of the implement in her hand and the way it swung. It was just the right size to cover one bottom-cheek at a time and mark it with a pink oval. The implement seemed versatile, designed to either put a comfortable warm heat or a fierce sting in a sub�s bottom, depending on how hard it struck its target. She hoped that it could be used both to arouse Jason and to punish him, depending on how hard she chose to hit. The clerk commented:

�I love that one; it�s one of my favorites. I always get turned on when he spanks me with it. It puts a really nice heat in your ass without too much bruising. I think your boyfriend will like it too.�

�So, I�m kinda curious�if you like it so much, what does your boyfriend use if he�s pissed off at you?�

�The cane. If I do something that really pisses him off, he�ll use the cane on me, and that I don�t like at all. But, I try to be good, and he knows that, so I don�t get the cane all that much.�

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That night was the first night Cecilia told Jason to kneel while she went over Burnside�s coursework with her. As he knelt on the floor nervously looking up at her, she gently brushed his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair. She then placed one hand on his shoulder and ran her other hand down his back, gently rubbing and patting his bottom to let him know that tonight he was due for a spanking.

Before she sat down to begin questioning him about the evening�s coursework, she made an announcement that set his heart pounding.

�Jason, there�s a reason I�m havin� you kneel tonight, �cause I wanna try somethin� new. I�m gonna spank your cute bare bottom, but we�re gonna do it a bit different. I�m not gonna put you over my lap, �cause instead I got a leather paddle. And, �cause we�re using somethin� new, I�m gonna want to take some pictures, so I�ll borrow your camera before we go back to my room.�

�Y�yes, Cecilia.�

He was very nervous, but also very excited. As she questioned him about Burnside�s work, a furious erection pointed straight at her the entire time he knelt trying to answer.

Shortly afterwards they went back to her room, Jason only wearing a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting shirt. Once he was in her room he stripped off his clothes and dutifully hung them up. Cecilia took off her clothing as well. She didn�t wait to have Jason strip her, because she was eager to try out the new paddle. She ordered Jason to position the room�s armchair in the middle of the room and stand with his hands placed on the back. She instructed him to arch his back slightly and stick his bottom out. When he complied, she ordered him to turn his face to her. She took a picture of her lover with his digital camera from the back, then moved to the front to get him with his very erect penis sticking out in anticipation of the spanking.

She gently brushed his penis and testicles with her fingertips, and then picked up the paddle and showed it to him. She touched it to his trembling bottom and slowly moved it around in circles.

�It feels kinda different from my hand, doesn�t it?�

�Yes, Cecilia.�

�So you think you�re a bad boy? Bad enough for the paddle on your bare, naked bottom?�

�Yes, Cecilia�I�m a bad boy and I need the paddle. Please spank me.�

�You�re askin� for it, so you must be very naughty. But then, that�s why you have such a cute butt, for lots of hard spankings. I�m gonna spank that naughtiness right out of you.�

Cecilia positioned herself, tapped his left bottom cheek, and smacked it with a loud POP! The sensation was different from either the belt, which was much more painful and concentrated, or her hand, which was somewhat less intense. Instead, the smack covered Jason�s bottom-cheek with a hot tingling that, to his surprise, he really enjoyed. A second hard smack on his right bottom cheek matched the burning on the left side. It hurt, but at the same time was quite enjoyable.

Cecilia spanked on alternate sides: left�right�left�right�left�right. As always, she took her time, making sure he could feel each swat separately and appreciate it. After delivering 10 blows, she stopped to take pictures of the pink glow on Jason�s bottom and the intensely excited expression in his face. The hot burning only increased with the next 10 swats, which in turn were followed by another set of pictures. Cecilia wanted to document the progressive reddening of Jason�s bottom and the impact the spanking was having on his emotions. What she really liked was the even color the paddle was leaving on his bottom�there were no welts or stripes, just a solid, even, deep pink completely covering both sides and sharply contrasting with the unpunished skin of his back and upper thighs.

Cecilia stopped after the 40th swat. She took some final pictures and then ordered Jason to stand with his feet spread and his hands behind his head for even more pictures. He was very, very aroused. He couldn�t believe how much that intense burning sting excited him.

She then ordered him to lie on her bed on his back. His furious erection bobbed up and down as she tore open a condom packet and positioned the condom over his penis. Then she mounted him, pinning his hands above his head as she impaled herself on his very stiff organ. She clenched her teeth as she looked into his eyes and dug her fingernails into his wrists. He pushed up into her as hard as he could, totally aroused by the hot sting still burning in his punished bottom. Oh�this was good�a perfect combination of physical sensations. This was really good�

When they were finished they cuddled as usual. They were exhausted and spent, she from the grueling conference schedule, and he from tutoring his friends and other students. He also had been tensed up from not having been allowed to have sex with her, but now he understood what her reason had been for making him wait. As usual, she seemed to know how to give him truly exquisite pleasure, by making him build up his desire by being patient throughout the week. She then brought out his desire as she worked up his emotions with that wonderful spanking. He was surprised himself that he would find a spanking from a leather paddle so enjoyable, but then, that was why Cecilia had taken charge of his life. She knew him better than he knew himself.

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The following evening was the final reception of the Danubians before their departure for Washington DC. Cecilia wore her Danubian formal gown and had her hair braided in Danubian style. Jason accompanied her, properly dressed in a dark gray business suit and conservative red tie. She took his arm and led him around the room, introducing him to the people with whom she had worked over the last couple of weeks preparing the visit.

When Cecilia talked to Burnside and Halsey, she still had Jason�s arm locked in her own. The professor glanced at Jason, and then gave her scholarship student a knowing look. With a single look at the young couple she had figured it out. So the Sanchez girl had a partner, one who was submissive to her. Good job, Cecilia, she thought to herself. Way to go.

That night the Prime Minister was busy talking to everyone in the room, so the intimate dinner table conversation he shared with Cecilia on Tuesday was not going to be repeated. Cecilia and Jason sat with the other graduate students while Jim Halsey and a couple of other Foundation representatives spoke about their hopes for Upper Danubia�s future. The Danubian ambassador to the US spoke next, thanking the university for its hospitality and announcing Dukov�s pending speech to the National Press Club for the following Monday before flying back to Europe. Finally Dukov himself spoke, thanking the university, the city of Chicago, and the State of Illinois for the hospitality his group had received. He did not speak for very long, but he concluded with the hope that the �unpleasantness� between his government and the US government would pass, and that the two nations could enjoy warm relations in the future.

Cecilia heard Jason mutter: �not if Dad has his way��

There was dinner, some slow dancing afterwards, and finally a long series of good-byes. When it was Dukov�s turn to say goodbye to Cecilia, he commented:

�Again I wish to express my gratitude for your insight. Perhaps it will please you to know that I will travel to Sumy Ris next Thursday to meet with my counterpart, to discuss your suggestion. I have hope for our success, and I owe you my appreciation.�

Cecilia heart pounded as she shook the Prime Minister�s hand for the final time. At age 19, without even having completed the first semester of her sophomore year, she had managed to change the course of history with a single question.

The Freshman - Chapter 22