The sway of the wagon helped her into a fitful doze. In periods of half-waking, Lars’ promise to ‘deal with her disobedience later’ floated to the front of her mind like unwanted scum on the surface of dishwater. Ellie clenched her bottom at the memory of that deep voice and the intent was loud and clear. He aimed to spank her, and she’d agreed to his rules. Hell, she’d repeated the words like a child at school who couldn’t return to her seat until the recitation was perfect.
Ellie felt the wagon leave the road and bounce over uneven ground. They must be stopping for the night. She held her breath and waited. When it was safe, Lars would let the back down and help her to freedom. Tonight, she both wished for and feared that moment.
“Come on, Ellie. Scoot on out of there,” Lars instructed.
Ellie emerged like a moth from a cocoon. Even though it was twilight, her eyes watered at the sudden light.
She decided to seize the initiative. “Lars, I’m sorry. I know I should have stayed hidden, but the outhouse was such a temptation. That’s the hardest part of hiding, and I didn’t think it would do any harm.” Her voice trembled. Lars icy eyes regarded her with unblinking intent.
“Well, I agree with one part—you weren’t thinking.” Lars pulled his hat from his head and slapped it against his thigh. “We’ve been careful, Ellie girl, maybe too careful. But we don’t know how dogged Simon will be in his search. We don’t know how far word has spread of the reward. We don’t know if he has hired trackers, and since we don’t know, caution seemed wisest.”
“You’re right, Lars. I won’t sneak out again,” she said. “I promise.” She rested a small hand on his forearm and squeezed.
“Well, now, that’s another thing, Ellie girl.” Lars shook his head from side to side like a big dog throwing water from its fur. “You were sneaky. I was at the river and Sven was in the store, so you decided to sneak. I want to trust you, but how can I when you act that way?”
Ellie’s voice was soaked with shame. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“I expect after your spanking you’ll think twice, and that’s a fact.” Lars took her hand and headed toward the river like they were lovers out for a Sunday stroll.
Ellie pulled her hand free and backed away. “No, no, Lars. I promised.” She hid her hands behind her and put another step between them.
Lars regarded her with solemn eyes. “I explained that you would be spanked if you put yourself or others in danger. Now, you did just that, and you’re going to pay the piper. Besides, you agreed to my discipline.”
For a big fella, he moved right quick. He covered the ground between them in one long stride and lay claim to her hand once more. She struggled to pull free, but he held tight. She leaned away from him with all her weight and dug her heels into the dirt. He’d just have to drag her if he was so set on it. In a single move, he captured her knees with one arm and lifted her over his shoulder. Her upper body hung down his back, and she pounded it with flailing fists.
“You’re making it worse for yourself, Ellie girl.” Lars laid a hearty smack to her bottom.
He strode toward the river peering this way and that. When he spied a fallen log, he lifted her off his shoulder and set her on her feet but kept a firm hold of her upper arm.
“Lars, please,” she wailed.
He lowered himself onto the log, put large, warm hands on her waist and placed her across his thighs. The fabric of her skirt slid up her ankles, over her thighs, and lay draped over her back. His warm hand rubbed circles over her bloomers.
“We believe in spanking, Ellie girl. Not as a way to bring pain although it does that sure enough.”
His low chuckle vibrated. Her body was a pond, and that low rumble was a little stone he’d thrown into her calm water. Waves of sensation radiated in ever widening circles from its point of entry. Ellie squirmed. She squeezed her legs together seeking relief, but the throbbing simply grew more focused, more intense, more wanting.
“It’s a way to show love and care and concern,” Lars continued his explanation. “I have feelings for you, and, to tell the truth, I’m a mite confused. I’ve had plenty of women, too many I suspect, but I never cared. It was a good time and a release I needed badly. But I’ve got a hankering to keep you, Ellie girl, if you’ve a mind to be mine.”
A hot flash like a streak of lightning in a dark sky ricocheted from her head to her toes. Jealousy, green and ugly, reared its head. She resented those unknown women. Resented the time he’d lavished on them and the intimacies they’d shared.
“Well, if I do, you better not go having that ‘good time’ with anybody but me.” She turned her head to glare at him with newfound conviction.
“I expect you’re all the woman I can handle, misbehaving and mouthy as you are.” His hand stopped rubbing circles over her bloomers, and she missed the comfort of it. “We best get to it.”
Her body became a board, a brick, a plank so stiff a pirate could walk to a watery death on her rigid spine.
“Relax, Ellie girl. I’m not going to kill you. It’s a spanking. Nobody ever died from having their bottom warmed.”
He laid the first smack. It stung and smarted. One hand held her tightly to his body, while the other delivered stinging spanks. She lay quiet and considered. This wasn’t so bad. She let her shoulders droop over his legs and prepared to endure.
“Lift up,” Lars ordered. He tapped her side with his long fingers.
“What?” she stammered.
“Lift up. It’s time to lose those bloomers.” He tapped against her side once more.
“No, Lars. It’s not right. We’re not married,” she explained.
“Lift up,” he repeated. “Spanking should be on the bare.”
Ellie hesitated, waited for inspiration to strike. There must be a way out of this.
Lars’ sigh echoed through the air. He stood her beside his leg and pulled the ribbon at her waist. He gave her bloomers a hard jerk, they skittered to the ground and he pulled her back over his thighs. “There,” he said. That single word spilling satisfaction right and left like a child with the milk jug.
The stinging bees were replaced with a rain of spanks that had her gasping, struggling, writhing. His hand moved from left to right and down to the tops of her thighs. He added a series of strikes to the underside of her bottom. Her goal of quiet endurance disappeared. She wailed. She begged.
When she threw her hand back to protect her poor bottom, Lars caught it with his free hand and pinned it to her back not losing a single beat in the rhythm of his discipline.
And then in mid-stroke, while she lay waiting for the inevitable spank, the soft breeze of evening cooled her burning bottom. Once again his large hand rested on her exposed cheeks, but instead of comfort, it telegraphed warning.
She twisted to get a look. What she saw made her blood run cold. Ellie had heard that saying all her life, and she’d never believed in its truth until this moment. When she saw the scruffy man with his scraggly beard holding a Colt to Lars’ temple, her body cooled to a crispy chill.
The intruder gave a little wave with his gun. “I hate to interrupt such a fine spanking. I do like a well-disciplined woman. My wife, rest her soul, spent a good deal of time studying the floor.” He gave a rueful laugh.
“What do you want?” Lars growled. He fumbled with the fabric of her dress, and her skirt slid down her thighs.
“The girl,” he stated. “I heard of her in Sacramento. A small, redheaded gal on the run. Then today when I seen her wiggle out of that wagon, I knew she was the one.” He tapped the gun against the side of Lars’ skull. “I don’t see no reason to shoot you, son, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t give me one. I’m leaving with the little gal.” He jabbed the gun in Ellie’s direction. “Stand up,” he ordered.
Ellie struggled to stand, but the weight of Lars’ hand pressing on her back kept her pinned to his thighs. “Let me up, Lars. I don’t want you to get shot.” She pushed with both hands on his rock-hard t
high, but he held her firm.
The sound of a gun being cocked signaled dangerous intent. Ellie renewed her escape attempt with vigorous struggle. “Don’t shoot, mister. I’ll come,” she said.
“Stop it,” Lars’ growl was low and deadly.
“Lower that gun and drop it on the ground,” Sven commanded.
Ellie jumped at the sound of the welcomed voice. Well, the odds just got better.
“This don’t concern you, mister,” the interloper stated.
“Since that’s my brother you’ve got the drop on, I beg to differ. Drop the gun,” Sven repeated. When the man hesitated, Sven continued, “You might get a shot off, and it might kill my brother, but the next shot will be aimed at the back of your head. The only way you walk away alive is to drop the gun.”
“All right,” the man replied. He tossed the gun into the dirt.
Lars lifted her from his lap and set her on her feet. Her bloomers lay twisted around her feet, and she stepped out of them. Better that than pull them up with three men watching.
Sven walked the man to a nearby tree. “Sit,” he ordered. “There’s rope on his horse, Lars. Tie him to the tree.”
Lars wound the rope around the man. “That’ll hold him for a day, I expect.” Lars paused. “I think I’ll relieve him of his boots. That will give us more time,” he said. He tugged them from the man’s feet and threw them into the middle of the river. He gathered the gun from the dirt and let it follow the boots to a watery grave.
“We’re not thieves,” Sven said, “but we can’t leave your horse here for you to ride after us.” He waved his arms and slapped the big horse on its flank. “Git,” he yelled. The horse bolted into the trees. “You can catch him later.”
Lars dropped an arm around Ellie’s shoulders as they began the trek back to the wagon. “Thank you, brother, for coming to our rescue,” Lars said. “We were a far piece from camp. How did you know we were in trouble?”
Sven gave a harsh laugh. “You didn’t go far enough. I could hear Ellie caterwauling all the way to camp. When she went quiet sudden like, I knew something was wrong. Usually a spanked woman sort of winds down slow. Anyway, I went in the direction of all that crying and carrying on and found that hombre with a gun to your head.”
The rest of the walk back to camp was silent. Each member of the little party consumed with their own thoughts.
Ellie burst out first, “I’ll leave…” she began.
Lars laid a hefty spank to her already burning backside.
“Hush.”
She dared not ignore his rebuke or the fury in his eyes.
Caroline waited for them in the little clearing, Micah and Loki played a game of fetch nearby. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
“We were followed.” Sven pulled her into his embrace. “A fella aimed to take Ellie for the reward.”
Lars’ hands rested on a slim hip. “Sven, Ellie and I need to leave.” He raised his hand to stop the objection boiling in his brother’s eyes. “I won’t abandon Ellie to the fate Simon Prescott has in store, and I can’t continue to put your family at risk. Sven, you have a small child and a pregnant woman to care for. As long as Ellie is here, they are in danger. We both know it’s true.”
Sven hesitated as he watched his small son play fetch with Loki. He gave a sharp nod.
Lars rummaged in the back of the wagon and returned with their map in hand. The two men studied it as if it held the answer to life, and perhaps it did.
“You and Caroline continue on the trail. It’s well-traveled. You just follow it north past this mountain, Shasta, and keep on. Looks like the steepest mountains are here as you enter Oregon.” He stabbed the map with his finger. “We talked about stopping around here.” He drew a circle with his finger. “If you don’t find land to suit you there, head on to Willamette. I’ll find you.”
“Where will you be?” Caroline asked.
“We’ll take the horses and head east.” He drew a line with his finger across the map. “To the Sierra Nevada. It’s rugged, wild, we can hide there until it seems safe to return.”
“How will you know when it’s safe?”
“I don’t know,” Lars admitted. “But I do know I can’t abandon Ellie, and I can’t put your family at risk.”
“I’ll saddle the horses,” Sven said. “Lars, pack your saddle bags with all the food they will hold. We can stop for supplies along the way.”
Caroline climbed into the back of the wagon and opened her little trunk. “Ellie, take these dresses. You have to have a change of clothes.” She passed a little bundle into her friend’s hands.
“Thank you. You’ve been so kind, and I’ve brought you nothing but trouble.” Ellie managed the few words around the lump in her throat.
“Nonsense. Simon brought the trouble. You stick close to Lars and do what he says,” Caroline said. “He’s been on his own and sometimes on the run for years. He’s smart in those ways.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Never thought I’d see those as his good qualities.”
Lars pushed the little bundle of clothes into her saddlebag and boosted her until her foot caught the stirrup. He swung onto his own mount.
“Take this,” Sven held three one-dollar coins on the palm of his hand.
“No, you’ll need it to buy our land,” Lars replied.
“Take it.” Sven gave his hand a gentle shake.
Lars slipped the coins into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned over and extended his hand.
Sven gripped it with both of his.
“Travel safe, brother,” Sven said.
“We’ll see you in Oregon.” Lars turned in his saddle and pierced Ellie with watchful eyes. “Stay close,” he ordered.
Ellie lifted her fingers in a farewell wave before turning her horse to follow Lars into the gathering darkness.
She would follow Lars. She saw the shadow of her future in the broad outline of his shoulders and the firmness of his jaw.
She would follow.
Chapter 5
“We’ll stop in an hour or so. I want to put distance between us and that varmint,” Lars called over the beat of cantering hoofs. “As long as we’re close, Sven’s family is in danger.”
Ellie grimaced but nodded agreement.
“Your bottom hurt?” He knew it was a stupid question as soon as he asked. Of course, her bottom hurt. He’d given her a good licking, and she deserved it.
She rolled her eyes. Well, he didn’t like that answer one little bit.
He slowed his horse to a walk and reached over to grab the bridle of Ellie’s horse. “Answer with words and watch the attitude. I didn’t get to finish the spanking before we were interrupted. I’d be happy to pick up where I left off.”
“No, please, Lars. I’m sorry. Can we stop for the night?” Ellie whimpered.
Lars studied their surroundings. “All right. We’ll camp under those trees yonder. No fire. It’ll take that man a while to wiggle loose, and he doesn’t have a horse or boots, but I don’t want to make an easy target. He might have had a friend close by.” He turned their horses toward the secluded spot.
“Let go of my horse.” Ellie jerked on the reins, but he held firm.
“Ellie, let’s get this straight. You do what I say. You don’t fight me or put up a fuss. You don’t argue. No attitude. I reckon you know the consequences,” he said.
“Now, hold on there a minute, mister. You said I would be spanked for putting my life or someone else’s life in danger. You didn’t say nothing about fussin’ or arguing. I didn’t agree to any horse shit like that,” she shouted.
Lars was out of his saddle, and had her off her own horse and secure under his arm with her butt waving in the air before she took a second breath. Five spanks landed over her dress. Ellie stamped her feet in the dirt and howled. He took a few minutes to throw her skirt over her back and commenced to pepper her already glowing bottom with fast, crisp swats. He kept up a steady paddling until he was sure he’d rekindled a roaring flame.
When her bottom glowed like a scarlet sunset, he set her in front of him. “Listen to me, Ellie, and listen good. You knew there would be consequences for putting yourself or someone else in danger. You also agreed to be spanked for disobedience. Do you remember?”
He handed her the handkerchief he carried in his pocket. She wiped tears from her face and blew her nose before giving a surly nod.
“You’ve been discovered. From that moment, we were in danger. It will be easier to hide in the mountains, but the danger still exists. Because of that we need to clear up a few rules.” He took hold of her upper arms and gave a little shake. “Listen closely, Ellie girl. If you disobey me in any way, you’ll be spanked. If you fail to follow instructions immediately, you will be spanked. If you give me any sass, you will be spanked. I don’t have time to wrangle with you. I’ll be too busy keeping us safe. If you try to be sneaky, I’ll take my belt to you. One more thing, that better be the last swear word I ever hear coming from your mouth, Sven and I already warned you about that.”
Ellie’s shoulders shook with the last of her shuddering sobs. She put her hands on her bottom and rubbed.
“None of that.” He pulled her hands into his. “I know that sounds mighty harsh, but I want you safe, and that’s the only way I know how to do it. I’ve lived on the run. I don’t like it, but I know how, and you don’t.” He pulled her into his body and laid his chin on the top of her head. His hands wandered down her back until they cupped her buttocks. He lifted her until she rested against him. He wanted her to feel his need. “Do you understand, Ellie girl?”
Her body melted into him and sent his blood pumping and his pulse racing. He wanted her, but he wanted more. He’d never wanted more before—more time, more intimacy, just more and more and more. He wanted more than sex, although he wanted that plenty bad. Maybe she’d come with him to Oregon and raise those crops and children he’d imagined.
“I understand,” she whispered, squirming against his hardness.
Here Comes McBride (Journey's End Book 1) Page 4