“I’m going to need another beer,” he said, sliding a five-dollar bill across the bar. “Keep the change.”
“Can do, but we’re going need to drive you home, sir,” Ray replied, putting the money in the till and pouring a cold one.
“Suits me just fine,” Mr. Callaway said, shooting Jessica a wink. Separately and over time, Jessica and Ray had become the keepers of the older generation of Poke. Jessica, with her perms and curlers for her blue-haired customers, and Ray, entertaining the lonely bachelors and driving them home when the bar closed.
Caring for others. Ultimately, that was what had made Jessica fall head over heels in love with the bartender. The muscles were sexy and, yes, he was a beauty to look at, but below the tough, rugged exterior, Ray was a big sweetheart.
Ray had cried like a baby at Kevin’s funeral, earning him the nickname of ‘gentle giant’, from Carrie. When Evan was born through an emergency cesarean section, Ray had taken to showing up at Jessica’s door with bottles filled with a green liquid that Ray referred to as, Moose Juice. The son of a midwife, Ray had a recipe to help new mothers with milk production. He had driven six hours round trip, once a week, to the town of Kent to get the ingredients to make the concoction for her.
And Ray had told Jessica the moment he knew he loved her. It wasn’t the night while wearing cutoff shorts and boots, Jessica had pushed all the tables aside in his bar and got everyone to dance. To Jessica’s surprise, Ray told her it was, “Ever since I saw you put that perm in Ms. Burberry’s hair.” The tender way Jessica had cared for the woman had solidified Ray’s desire to make Jessica his.
“Mr. Callaway, we recently found out that my father, who left when I was young, had a child later in his life. I lost contact with my dad, barely remember the man, but I got a call a few weeks past. The old man has passed away, leaving an eighteen-year-old daughter on her own. No other family, she spoke with me for a long time over the phone, and I asked her to come out for the wedding. She sounds like a real sweetheart.”
“What’s her name?” Mr. Callaway asked.
“Buttercup,” Ray answered, holding a straight face.
“Butter pat?” Mr. Callaway exclaimed. “What kind of name is that? Something you put on toast.”
“Turn up your hearing aid, Mr. Callaway,” Jessica spoke loudly.
“Hold yer horses, girlie.” Mr. Callaway fiddled with his aid. “Okay, I’m all turned up. What’d you say, Ray?”
“I said, Buttercup.”
“That’s not much better,” he mumbled.
“Well, that’s her name and it’ll be a pleasure to meet her. Her mother loved the movie, The Princess Bride, and named her after the lead character,” Ray said.
“It’s a classic, Mr. Callaway. You should watch it,” Jessica said.
“Buttercup, humph. Well, where is this mother of hers?” Mr. Callaway asked, already sounding protective of the girl he had just found to exist.
“No idea. She took off when Buttercup was ten, leaving my father to raise her.”
“Payback’s a beast, ain’t it? Don’t that beat all. Your father leaves your mother to raise you, and he’s left raising a daughter.”
“Life is complicated,” Jessica murmured. Having created her own difficulties through her mistakes, Jessica knew first hand just how complex life could be. Garrett, Wes’ brother, who happened to be Evan’s father, had disappeared the night before Christmas Eve leaving her a single mother. Just another reason Jessica counted Ray amongst her many blessings. Every night as she drifted off to sleep, Jessica listed all the things she was grateful for, watching the faces of her loved ones pass through her mind. Ray and Evan were always first, and together, as the mental picture floated by.
Yawning, Jessica rubbed her eyes. Home alone last night, Jessica’s movie marathon was catching up with her.
“You ready, honey? You look tired,” Ray said. “I can get Glenn to take over and we can head out.”
Tired as she was, Jessica had one final request to make of Ray. She needed just a splash more of liquid courage to be able to ask. “I’ll have one more,” Jessica said, holding her glass out to Ray.
“How about a half,” Ray answered, his tone telling not suggesting.
Jessica knew there was no room for debate with Ray when the ‘daddy tone’, as Carrie called it, came out. Another glass would be lovely, but Jessica would take what she could get. “Thank you,” she said as Ray poured her another splash.
Ray pointed quietly to Mr. Callaway. The rancher sat at the bar, head resting on his forearm, snoring softly. Jessica handed Mr. Callaway’s half empty beer glass to Ray as Ray began wiping down the bar.
“We made some good progress tonight.” He stopped and locked eyes with Jessica. “If there is anything else I can do for you, honey, just ask.”
It was now or never. Twirling the stem of her wineglass between her forefinger and thumb Jessica debated coming clean with Ray. The bravery the two and a half glasses of pinot grigio had given Jessica allowed her to answer shyly, “There is one more thing.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ray said, his face brimming with curiosity.
“Spank me.”
The smile that crossed Ray’s face was one Jessica saw only when his daddy dom side came out. The sight of it made her knees weak. Leaning in towards her, forearms resting on the bar, Ray ran the side of his finger down her cheek. Shivers tickled Jessica’s spine as Ray replied, “It would be my pleasure.”
Chapter 2
On the drive home from the bar, Ray could not get the wide grin to leave his face. With Mr. Callaway prattling on in the passenger seat, talking to Jessica over his shoulder, Ray was free to be alone with his thoughts. Never, had he ever expected Jessica would be the one to ask him to finally introduce spanking to their relationship.
For Ray, spanking went so far beyond any form of kink or discipline. It was not a way for him to control his woman’s behavior, or merely turn her on in the bedroom. It was the gift of a woman’s submission, fully giving ownership over one’s body in that special way, that put the grin on his face.
There are many dynamics at play in relationships. Jessica allowing Ray to protect her in a way that went deeper than the give and take of a normal relationship was key for Ray. Knowing that he was her man and she was his woman and there would be consequences if she were to jeopardize that. And, yes, having power over Jessica’s body, it was sexy as hell.
Checking the rearview mirror to see Jessica’s smile and send her a quick wink, Ray returned to daydreaming while they drove Mr. Callaway home, thinking of his much-loved memory from the past year.
Ray and Jessica were not yet officially dating, though he had been thinking of her as his for weeks. In the early days of their dating, Ray would come to Jessica’s house and bring her nutritious beverages to help with establishing nursing, visit a bit, and hold Evan. Thanking Ray for the Moose Juice, Jessica had kissed Ray.
That kiss signaled to Ray that after waiting for over a decade, it was time to pursue this woman. Ray began to cook for her. Every visit, without fail, he saw to it that Jessica ate. The night Ray was currently daydreaming of was one that while serving Jessica up a huge plate of pasta, Ray had almost dropped the bowl in surprise when she had asked, “So, are you, like a daddy type?”
“Maybe, probably. I guess you could say that,” Ray had responded, then clarified his response with, “but in a ‘who’s your daddy’ way, not ‘I want to be your father’ way if that makes sense.”
“Hmm… This is good,” Jessica said as she took a second bite. “That makes sense. But if it’s a ‘who’s your daddy’ way, does that include discipline in the relationship?”
Spanking his woman, of course, was Ray’s best-case scenario. If he couldn’t spank, he could live with that, but he had to be the Head of his Household. Not wanting to scare Jessica off, Ray had simply replied, “Not all daddy’s spank, you know.”
Their conversation had been put on pause to take care of baby Evan. Not wil
ling to let the subject drop, Ray scheduled a date and took Jessica to Giorgio’s in Clinton to continue their discussion.
Ray’s train of thought was suddenly jerked off memory lane by Mr. Callaway saying from the passenger seat of the car, “Wouldn’t you agree, Ray?”
“One hundred percent, Mr. Callaway,” Ray answered, looking in the rearview mirror to see Jessica smiling. Ray waited for the conversation to turn away from him. Once the attention was off him, Ray returned to his memory of that date, while driving the familiar roads to Mr. Callaway’s house.
Ray tried to hide his smile from his passengers as he played back Jessica’s response, in his head. “When on earth do I ever ‘need’ a spanking?” Jessica had asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe when you stay up watching murder mysteries after you’ve been told no and you are grumpy in the morning. Or when you forget to lock the front door at night. And when you don’t call certain people to tell them that you are going to be late coming home at night. Would you agree that those things might deserve a little trip over my knee?”
The blush that crept into Jessica’s face told Ray everything he needed to know. This was a woman, longing for the special care he could offer her. “I think we both know who the daddy is here,” he had said, his voice low. Across the table at the fancy restaurant, Ray had watched as the blush in Jessica’s cheeks, turned crimson.
Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Ray pulled into Mr. Callaway’s drive, walking him to the front door and making sure he got safely inside.
Returning to the car, Ray climbed into the driver’s side, eager to get his fiancée home.
“You sure were quiet on that drive,” Jessica said, buckling her seatbelt, having moved up to the passenger seat. “What’s on your mind.”
“Daddy stuff,” Ray said with a wink, enjoying the blush that rose into Jessica’s cheeks as he reversed out of the drive. That date had been the last time that spanking had come up in their conversation. Soon after that night, Carrie had suddenly gotten sick, then, Jessica and Ray became engaged and life had gotten so busy, that Ray and Jessica had no time to revisit the topic. Hearing Jessica say the word’s ‘spank me,’ right at his bar, made Ray ecstatic. And he couldn’t wait to get home. “Mostly just reminiscing about our first official date,” he answered.
“Ah,” Jessica said, putting the pieces into place. “Giorgio’s.”
Keeping his left hand held tight to the wheel, Ray placed his right hand on Jessica’s upper thigh, giving it a squeeze. “You need a stress relief spanking?” he asked.
Ray could hear the embarrassment in Jessica’s voice. “Maybe.” Jessica sighed a little sigh, “Maybe, yes.”
Tightening his grip on her thigh, enjoying Jessica’s intake of breath as he did, Ray said, “If we open that door, I’m afraid I won’t be able to go back.”
“You’re going to be spanking me all the time?” her voice squeaked out.
“Maybe. Depends”
“On what?” Jessica turned to Ray, indignantly.
“How naughty you are. But sometimes I’ll want to spank you just because.”
“Because why?”
“Because I want to. Because I can.”
Ray watched Jessica’s face as his words sunk in. The pink continued to rise in her cheeks. Knowing Jessica would flourish under his special care, Ray could be patient. He had waited this long to make Jessica his own and soon she would be his for eternity. He had all the time in the world for her to fully embrace what he was offering.
“Can I think about it?” she asked, softly.
“Sure. But first, you are going to lay over my lap and receive the spanking that you asked for.”
After sending Mama on her way, and checking on a sleeping Evan, Ray led Jessica to the couch.
Sitting next to one another, Ray wrapped his arm around Jessica’s shoulders. “I love you, honey. And I’m ready to add this dynamic to our relationship. But only if you want it. Either way, you are at least getting a spanking tonight, so go ahead and lay over my lap.”
Jessica giggled, nervously.
A firm believer in ‘ask and you shall receive’, Ray raised one eyebrow to Jessica, saying, “Now.”
Jessica’s laughing stopped. Looking unsure, Jessica slowly moved her body, so her torso was laying over Ray’s thighs. Ray moved forward guiding Jessica’s knees to drop to the ground. Kneeling over his thighs, Jessica’s bottom was within easy striking distance. Ray began his lecture.
“Jessica, are you taking care of yourself?”
“Of course!” she protested.
“Did you eat the salad I left for you, last night?” There was no response. Coming home from the bar after two in the morning, Ray had found the uneaten salad hiding in the back of the fridge. “It’s important to take care of yourself during times of chaos so you can handle the stress. Right?”
“Mmm, hmm…”
“Okay, that’s ten for not eating well.”
“Ten!” Jessica exclaimed, turning and peering at Ray, behind her shoulder. “It was one salad!”
“You are telling me that other than skipping the one salad, you have been eating well?” Ray had found one too many empty Little Debbie’s wrappers in the trash that month.
“Um, maybe not super well,” Jessica admitted.
“Ten it is. Let’s not make it twenty for lying.” Ray held back a chuckle as Jessica shuddered underneath him. “What about bedtimes on the nights that I am not here to tuck you in?”
“Hmm,” Jessica murmured. Ray had yet to get a straight answer out of her. It would come in time. He would teach her.
Patting her bottom softly over her jeans, “What time did you go to bed last night, young lady? After ten?” Ray asked.
“Maybe?” Jessica said.
“Eleven?”
“Ish.”
Not one to lose his patience, Ray could play this game all night. It was her bottom on the line. “What does, ish, mean, exactly? I’m adding five for not answering my question. You are up to fifteen, Miss Jessica.”
“That’s not fair, Ray,” Looking back at him over her shoulder, Jessica began to sit up to protest.
Smack smack Ray placed two hard spanks on the backs of Jessica’s thighs. The sting in his hand fulfilling a long-time desire within him. “In position, please. Shall we call it an even twenty for arguing? If I were you I wouldn’t even bother asking if those two counted.”
Jessica lay back over Ray’s lap, obediently. “Yes, Ray.”
“How about, ‘Yes, sir,’ when you are in this position.”
“Yes,” it took his stubborn woman a moment, but to his immense pleasure, she did say, “Sir.”
“You can leave your jeans on until we are married. After that, you’ll be spanked on the bare. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Jessica said with a groan.
“Groaning makes it twenty-five. I won’t even tell you what you’d be at if I could see that eye-roll that I know you just did. Now, count them for me.”
“Ray, I can’t,” Jessica began to protest, Ray brought his hand down flat right in the middle of her left cheek. Smack He could feel the sting in his hand, admiring Jessica’s bottom as it wiggled over his knee.
“That hurt,” she protested. Her voice much quieter, Jessica whispered, “One.”
Methodically placing slaps and swats, varying in strength, Ray covered every inch of Jessica’s curving bottom. He wanted her to know that spankings could hurt, but also be a release. Just when he knew he was pushing Jessica’s pain threshold, he would lay off a bit on the next one, placing it right in that little valley between the curve of her bottom and the top of her thigh. Alternating between gasps and moans, Jessica counted out each one of the remaining twenty-four spanks, beautifully.
Nowhere near tears, but very flushed, Jessica pulled herself up to kneeling beside him, her tummy against his knees. Jessica wordlessly reached her face up towards Ray for a kiss.
Leaning down to meet her lips, Ray was ple
asantly surprised, but not shocked, by the hunger within Jessica’s kiss. Grabbing Jessica by her upper arms, Ray pulled her up and next to him on the couch. After another moment of kissing, Ray stopped, breaking the embrace. Jessica’s face hung, her eyes shining.
Reaching out and holding her face in his hands, Ray asked, “What do you think of spanking in a relationship?”
“I think it’s lovely,” Jessica murmured, reaching in for another kiss.
Gently caressing her face, her hair, Ray quietly said, “Remind yourself of those words the first time you get in real trouble with me, little miss.”
“Yes, sir,” Jessica answered, dreamily.
Ray kissed his girl. He meant what he said. Jessica was a strong woman and though she may love sexy spanking and stress releases, she would inevitably resist when Ray had to properly punish her. Ray stopped kissing. “Let’s hold on just a minute,” Ray said, prying Jessica’s body from his.
As close to pouting as Ray had ever seen her, Jessica crossed her arms and sat back on the couch.
Chuckling, Ray said, “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll take good care of you tonight.” Jessica looked away, his promise bringing a pretty pink to her cheeks. “I want to talk. The first spanking can be emotional.”
Jessica said, “Ray, you know me better than anyone. I’m just not the emotional, ‘talk it out’, type.”
“On the outside, maybe,” he whispered, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “But on the inside, you care deeply about things. So much so, that you tend to push your feelings aside and pretend they don’t exist.”
“It’s good to be tough. Life isn’t easy.”
“I like you tough. But you don’t have to be tough with me.” Kissing the top of Jessica’s head, Ray thought about everything Jessica had been through over the past year and a half. “Tell me how laying over my lap made you feel.”
“Hot for you,” Jessica said, smiling up at him.
“I can tell,” Ray laughed. “How else, emotionally, not physically?”
The Bartender (Sweet Texas Love Book 3) Page 3