Disbelief coursed through her, and a warm sensation pulsed between her thighs. She pressed her legs together and wrapped her arms around herself as if to fight off a chill, but she no longer felt cold at all. Heated all over, her shame at the prospect of being disciplined by the stern Lord Galien awakened baser desires she had not experienced since the time she indulged in a long kiss behind the stables with one of her brothers’ friends. Her husband had never called up such a yearning within her. She hugged herself tighter and gave Lord Galien her most apologetic look.
“I-I am sorry I spoke to you in such a disgraceful manner, Lord Galien, and I beg your forgiveness for my pushing you. I promise it will not happen again. It is not necessary that you discipline me.”
“Ah, but it is very necessary, my sweet lady.” His countenance softened a few measures. “If I allow you to get away with such behavior now, it will set a bad precedent. Do not be frightened, Lady Claire, I will only be giving you a light spanking. This time. As long as you cooperate with your punishment, I will not use my sword belt. I suggest you turn around and take up position in the corner, little lady, now, lest I change my mind about being gentle.”
Claire opened her mouth to argue further, but his stern demeanor had her clamping her lips together and turning around. Her gut clenched with apprehension. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the corner and waited for his instruction. Perhaps if she stood here without fussing, he’d reconsider her punishment. A phantom tingle prickled across her bottom cheeks, and she lowered her head as her face flamed. Why did she feel so warm and achy, even as nerves twisted and whirled in her stomach?
The door creaked open and then slammed shut, and she resisted the temptation to turn around. Her shame deepened as she realized the squires had returned. Standing in the corner was embarrassing enough in front of Lord Galien, but the presence of spectators deepened her humiliation. She prayed the stone floor would swallow her up, anything to help her escape her shameful position.
From the clinking of metal on metal going on behind her, she guessed the squires were removing the remainder of Lord Galien’s armor, and she next heard what she supposed was her heavy trunk scraping across the floor. The door opened once again, permitting a rush of noise from the soldiers in the hallway, before it slammed shut. She jumped at the sound, feeling a sense of finality at being alone with Lord Galien. She wondered if the hard push still angered him. Now that she had time to reflect, she supposed physical aggression was an appalling way to conduct herself against a lord.
Her mother had tried to raise her to be a gentle, kind woman with a heart full of grace, but Claire had faltered much growing up, constantly disappointing her parents as she got into scrapes with her brothers and their friends. She missed her mother and felt ashamed once again for behaving in a way that would’ve disappointed her. A lady always remains calm and gentle, Claire. A lady who resorts to violence will never command respect, and the ability to command respect for oneself is of utmost importance, her mother told her once after scolding her for punching a boy in the face. At the time Claire had ignored her mother’s wisdom.
She sighed and wondered if her mother had been right. Would Lord Galien treat her differently if he respected her? And why did it matter to her so much what he thought of her? They’d just met, and she didn’t like him. No, not a bit.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear his approach.
She started when a hand touched her shoulder, and gooseflesh rose up on her arms. The deep voice at her ear wrapped around her like a warm blanket, but the words that came forth struck fear deep in her heart.
“It is time for your punishment, Lady Claire.”
* * *
“Lord Galien, please, I beg you to reconsider.” She grimaced when she said beg, as if the mere idea of pleading with him lay beneath her.
Well, he intended to show her who was in charge. Besides that, he needed her subdued when they departed Hohenzollern. While he wished to give her a proper wedding in Minrova, he doubted they would make it through the portcullis without speaking their vows. Before he’d ventured into the castle, he’d seen the castle priest brought up to perform the hasty ceremonies after Gerhard’s decree.
Galien rested his hands on Claire’s shoulders and peered into her startled gaze. She was so opposed to the idea of accepting his discipline that he wondered if she had ever been spanked in her life. “Claire, I want you to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Try to calm yourself,” he said in the gentlest of tones. For a moment he reconsidered his decision to spank her, especially when a tear trickled down her cheek as she opened her eyes.
“I-I don’t want a spanking,” she said, her bearing imploring and childlike.
He brushed the tear away with his thumb and fought the impulse to gather her in his arms. The longer he stared at her, the more he wondered if this match had the potential to become more than just another political marriage. “Claire, you have nothing to fear from me. However, when you do wrong, little lady, I will not look the other way. Now come and lay yourself across my lap.”
She resisted, but only in a slight pull against him as he guided her to the bed. He sat on the edge and brought her down over his thighs, angling her so her upper body rested over the blankets. His first touch to her posterior was met with a quick intake of breath, and she shifted over his lap, inadvertently rubbing her center atop his growing hardness. Several strands of her dark brown hair had escaped her coif, and he bent to brush the errant locks from her face. A shudder rippled through her and her face bloomed under a pretty blush. He wondered if she felt his cock swelling beneath her, straining against his leggings and seeking out her sweetness. She met his gaze briefly before turning her head to the side, away from his view, but not before he saw her blush deepen.
Where she had gotten the ridiculous notion that she’d spend the rest of her days an unmarried widow, he knew not. She was still young and hadn’t conceived a child with her first husband, likely due to the lord’s advanced age, and she had many good, fertile years ahead of her. Galien needed an heir, and now that he had located Claire he supposed wedding his overlord’s comely sister to be as good, if not better, than any other match he might have made. After Lady Rhianna died, he had decided to put marriage off as long as possible, preferring to satiate his lusts with the tavern wenches from his village, much to the frustration of his father. But now, as he held the nervous Lady Claire over his lap and prepared to chastise her, he rather liked the idea of keeping a wife, filling her with his seed, and watching her grow heavy with his child.
He blew out a breath. By God, what was he thinking? He had met Claire not yet an hour ago and already his mind brimmed with notions more romantic than any he’d ever entertained. Sitting straighter, he gathered her closer and reached for the hem of her dress, deciding it best to get her discipline over with. The poor girl was shaking profusely, and while he knew he must punish her, he wished to end her misery.
“Please, Lord Galien,” she said, her voice urgent. “It is not proper for you to see me unclothed.” She reached a hand around to prevent him from baring her bottom, but he circled her wrist and pinned it to her lower back.
“I’m afraid I cannot allow you the protection of your skirts,” he said, lifting her chemise up with her dress, revealing her pale bare bottom to his gaze. His cock throbbed and longing pummeled through him, clouding his ability to think clearly. She was so lovely, and she was all his to do with as he pleased. Right now it pleased him to look at her, and it pleased him to stroke her naked cheeks while she squirmed and whimpered.
He raised his hand high and brought it down with a resounding smack, leaving a dark pink mark on her delectable bottom cheek. Again, he spanked her, this time slapping the other side. She cried out as if he’d just abused her grievously, and he paused and tightened his grip on her, now holding both her wrists at the small of her back overtop the layers of her dress and chemise.
“Claire, I hardly struck you. Those were light slaps. Why
are you screaming so?”
“Because it hurts!”
“It’s going to hurt a lot worse by the time I’ve spanked you properly. I will not have you screaming like a wild cat every time I punish you. I do not expect you to be completely silent, but screaming as if you are being murdered is not acceptable. Now,” he said, adjusting her bottom higher in the air and forcing her legs apart, “we are going to continue and I expect you to control yourself for the remainder of your spanking.”
With the next slap, she uttered a small gasp and only kicked her feet once, and the improvement pleased him. He continued on, switching from her left cheek to her right one as he spanked, covering the entirety of her bottom. It didn’t take long for her pale cheeks to blush as prettily as her face had moments ago. Feeling devilish, he smarted the insides of her thighs and held her in such a way that she couldn’t close her legs, then he moved up to bestow attention to the tender curve of flesh where her bottom and thighs met. All the pale flesh on her bottom reddened under his hand.
The soft sound of her crying wrenched at his heart, and he gave her two more hard slaps before stopping to caress her inflamed cheeks. “It’s over, my sweet Claire.”
She sniffled. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t like you, and I’m not sweet. There’s nothing sweet about me.”
He stroked her punished flesh once more, running his hand over her heated skin, before he pushed her chemise and skirts down. His cock still throbbed and strained to escape his leggings. By God, he couldn’t wait to have her writhing naked underneath him in the marriage bed. He was glad she wasn’t a virgin and he hoped she might enjoy such pleasures with him later in the warmth of their tent. “You’re wrong.” He released her wrists. “Everything about you is sweet. I think it is sweet that you were trying to save your friend.”
“How do you know about that?” She peered over her shoulder at him, her blue eyes sparkling with question. Despite her widowhood, she possessed a childlike innocence that made him want to spend the rest of his life watching over her, protecting her, and making her smile. He imagined the glimmer in her eyes while she smiled or laughed rivaled that of the sun and stars.
“I watched you for a spell after I followed my men into the castle. Some of them wished to take wives, you see. I regret that I was not able to stop that mercenary from frightening you. I looked away for a moment to speak with my squires, and when I sought you out again you were in trouble. I am glad you were not harmed, Lady Claire.” He turned her over, sat her upright on his lap, and wrapped his arms around her.
At first, she resisted meeting his gaze, opting to glare at his chest. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and the impulse to wipe a lingering tear away proved too tempting to resist. Still keeping one arm around her, he reached for her face with his free hand and brushed her tear away with his thumb. As he did so, she glanced into his eyes, her expression fearful and confused.
“Come here,” he said, drawing her against him. He nestled her head on his chest and stroked her hair, half of it now fallen from her coif. “Well, my lady, do you think you learned your lesson? Will you behave yourself for the remainder of the day at the very least?”
She remained silent for the longest while, and he almost wondered if she’d fallen asleep in his arms. But finally she spoke, her tone as soft as her body felt within his embrace. “I-I promise to try my best, my lord.”
Chapter Three
“No! I will not marry you today. Lord Galien, I implore you to reconsider.” Heart pounding a wild rhythm in her chest, Claire stopped in the center of the bailey and balked at the sight ahead.
A pale-faced Father David stood in front of the portcullis, watching as a huge knight approached with a woman flung over his shoulders. She flailed a bit and kicked up her skirts, and her long golden braid swayed with her struggles. The knight dropped her to her feet, and Claire recognized her as Lady Daisy, one of Princess Susanna’s ladies-in-waiting. Their marriage ceremony happened in a flash, with Father David only speaking to the knight.
The insufferable Lord Galien clasped Claire’s arm and urged her forward now that their turn had come. She tried to dig her heels into the ground, but his strength surpassed hers. By the time they reached Father David, he was practically carrying her. Her outraged cry drew a glance from Lady Daisy, who stared over her shoulder and gave Claire a compassionate look before her knight led her through the portcullis and outside the walls of Hohenzollern.
Lord Galien drew her up to his side and put his mouth to her ear. “Yes, my sweet Lady Claire. You will marry me today, and you will be sensible about it. We haven’t a choice. The only way I’m permitted to take you through the gates is if I take you as my bride, which I am fully prepared to do. Your brother commanded I marry you anyway, my dear. Today or a fortnight from now, the timing of our nuptials matters not.”
“It matters to me!” Panic filled her, and she looked ahead at Father David, meeting the elderly man’s sympathetic gaze. She tilted her head to Lord Galien. “If you make me do this now, on this very day, I will hate you forever.”
His dark eyes flashed with humor and he struggled to restrain a smile, his lips curving before he pressed them into a straight line. He obviously didn’t believe her, or mayhap he didn’t care whether or not she despised him. Flames of anger rose up, burning hot in the face of his indifference to her plight.
“As you just witnessed in the ceremony before ours, the lady’s consent matters not on this day. But I wish you would be so sweet as to give it. In fact,” he said with a teasing, wistful air. “I dream of looking upon our wedding day with much fondness years from now and remembering my wife having kindly spoken her vows to me, perhaps as an endearing blush stained her cheeks.”
She released a sharp breath. “I suggest you shove your dreams up your arse, my lord, because that will never happen.”
He reared his head back and laughed. Then he once again put his mouth to her ear, and she sensed his demeanor growing more serious. “All the women lining up behind us are frightened, Claire. If you are calm and cooperate, you might ease some of their fears.”
She glanced behind her and spotted four couples lined up, and none of the ladies appeared the least bit happy. They were maidens, all of them younger than her. Damn him, Lord Galien was right.
Very well. She would play along and be sweet, but not for Lord Galien’s sake or his bloody dreams. She turned to Father David and nodded with a smile that didn’t hurt as much as it should have.
“We are ready, father.” She pried her arm from her husband-to-be’s grasp and he took the hint and wrapped an arm around her instead. They moved two steps forward and turned to face each other, holding hands and looking into one another’s eyes. Her heart beat faster and her blood thumped in her ears.
Father David launched into an abbreviated sort of ceremony, and when it came time for Lord Galien to repeat his vows to her, the world suddenly narrowed. She couldn’t look away from the exceedingly tall and broad-shouldered Lord Galien, and a little piece of her broke off and latched onto him when he squeezed her hands in a reassuring gesture, and the strangest thing of all—she swore she detected sincerity in his voice. A lump lodged in her throat and she blinked back tears. Though forced, this ceremony felt so much different than her first wedding, certainly not as frightening. Her annoyance with Lord Galien faded as he continued gazing into her eyes with a gentleness that contrasted with his often firm manner. She suspected he was a man of many layers, and a small part of her delighted at the prospect of getting to know him better.
When it would’ve been her turn to recite her portion of the vows, Father David tried to press on and skip this part entirely, but she glanced at the priest and said, “I would like to say my part too, father. You needn’t skip it.” The other ladies were watching, she knew, and she heard at least two of them gasp.
Father David hesitated, but after a nod from Lord Galien the priest complied, and Claire obediently
repeated the marriage vows, keeping her eyes locked with Lord Galien’s. She told herself she was only doing so for the sake of the maidens waiting their turn, but she didn’t know what to tell herself to explain away the increasing flutters in her stomach, especially when Lord Galien leaned down to kiss her after Father David pronounced them husband and wife. His lips pressed warmly to hers, gentle and quick, and she mourned the loss of his closeness when he pulled away.
Husband and wife. A pang of longing quickened in her core, catching her completely by surprise. Being bedded by Lord Galien would surely be different from being bedded by the weak and elderly Lord Diterich, and she wondered how soon he planned to consummate the marriage.
“You honor me today, Lady Claire,” he said, guiding her through the portcullis.
A glance behind her showed the next ceremony had begun, and the young lady standing with the knight and Father David did not appear as scared as she had earlier. The ladies waiting their turn also looked more at ease, to her great relief. She caught the gaze of a servant girl she recognized as having newly arrived at the castle and gave the poor thing an encouraging smile before returning her attention to Lord Galien.
They traveled on horseback for the rest of the day, until the sun set over the distant mountains, a range of mountains she had never glimpsed so close before. Lord Galien sat her on his horse in front of him, not permitting her to ride by herself, and each time she squirmed or winced due to her sore bottom, he chuckled and held her tighter.
Though she had argued with him at first over not getting her own horse, she was now grateful for his insistence due to the snowy and rocky terrain. Even when they traveled through the woods the path proved treacherous.
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