He recalled being advised that if his two sides were out of range with one another when the sun rose, they would be torn apart forever and die. The pain would be great for her, but she would heal and be able to move forward. Could he cause her that much pain? A single tear formed in his eye. No, he loved her too deeply. There must be another way…
Chapter Twelve
“You are acting like a spoiled child, Courtney!” Marcas scolded, pointing his finger at her. “I promised you the spanking of your life if I saw you causing yourself harm again.”
“I am an adult and if I feel like having ice cream, then damnit, I will! My sugars are fine!”
“You are doing this out of defiance. I told you that we will leave for the Ambassador’s ball after sunset, and that he will stay here. I will not be disobeyed in this.”
“Like hell you won’t!” Courtney shouted, taking another bite of ice cream as she sat perched in the tall oak outside of the manor’s east wing. “Sebastian told me this morning that if the sun comes up and he’s not around, you’re dead. He is worried too! No way, buster. I’m not risking it.”
“We will return home before that time. I promise. I just do not want to take the chance of his interference.”
“No. I refuse to go if you pull this shit.” Courtney tossed the empty bowl straight at him and hitting him square in the chest. She scowled back at his face as it started to cloud over with anger.
“Courtney, you will come down this instant!” Marcas shouted. Courtney climbed higher and lodged herself comfortably in the fork of the large limbs. She suppressed the sudden need to laugh in his face. She had never conducted herself in this manner in her entire life and had always presented appropriately, respectfully, and with proper deference and dignity. To act out in such blatant rebellion was… freeing.
“I will not. If you want me to come down, you will make me a solemn promise not to leave him home or allow him to stray far from you.”
“I will make no deals with you, woman!” Marcas’ voice rumbled angrily as he fought to maintain a semblance of control. “You shall mind me and show your respect to my position.”
“I don’t care if you’re a Baron or have any other inflated title, Mr.Kalnovky. You will promise me this or I will stay in this tree until the sun goes down and let you fight it out with yourself. And I’m willing to bet your other side isn’t eager to be stuck here away from the festivities of the night.”
Marcas snarled, slapping the side of the tree with his hand. She had been careful to choose an oak with branches too small and tender to carry his weight. Little minx.
“You might as well give in to her requests, my son. She has the makings of a true noblewoman, starting with stubborn determination,” Sebastian’s voice was heard behind him. Marcas turned to see Solphia wheeling him towards them, trying to hide the smile on her face as she surveyed the events.
“Why did you tell her? You knew she would behave poorly!”
“Because she deserves to know the truth, son,” Sebastian said quietly, glancing up at the overwrought young woman high in the branches.
“I would never hurt her, or you, by being so foolish. I just cannot trust…”
“Yourself. Marcas, until you come to terms with who you are, this fight will never cease. Now, if you want my advice, agree to her terms…” Sebastian said patiently, patting Solphia’s hand on his shoulder as she chuckled at Marcas’ frustration.
“She is unreasonable! I do not bow to the demands of a…”
“Don’t you dare say it!” Courtney shouted, throwing a handful of acorns down and popping him smartly on the top of his head.
“Child, don’t you think it’s best if you come down now? Once the sun sets, you might be dealing with the two of him being angry with you,” Sebastian called up, hiding his smile.
“I’m not moving until he agrees. He has until tomorrow night and I assure you, I can stay up here until then.”
“You need to eat and…” Marcas glared at her.
“Look! Bags of cookies, candy, soda…” Courtney wagged the dangerous combination of food in his face.
“You are going to kill yourself! Sebastian, tell her…”
“This is your battle, my boy. One you should have thought out a little more thoroughly before starting it. Solphia? I’m getting chilled. Could we please go inside?”
Marcas turned to look up at the stubborn tilt of Courtney’s chin and sighed, “Please come down. It is going to rain and I do not want you to get ill.”
“Then promise me you won’t be apart from him.”
“I am going to blister your backside…”
“Promise me,” she demanded, ignoring the ice cold drops that started to fall around her.
Marcas growled, crossing his arms. The drops fell faster and began to run down his face.
“I promise. I will not have him be away from me.”
“You swear to me you won’t?”
“Yes, I swear. On my honor. Now, please, come down.”
Courtney hesitated before sliding down the rough limbs and easing herself to the wide fork of the trunk. Marcas stretched his arms out for her and she allowed him to capture her as she jumped. He held her tightly, wiping the wet rain from her face.
“You are in so much trouble, little Courtney. Why do you press me so?”
“Because I love you, you stupid jerk. If you are willing to hurt yourself for me, I will do the same to you.”
He kissed her temple and shook his head. “I am not hurting myself. You, however, will feel the consequences of disobeying me. We shall both be dealing with you tonight.”
Courtney’s eye grew wide as she realized the seriousness of her ordeal. She hesitated, pulling back from him as he led her towards the house. “I want to go back up the tree.”
“I bet you do, my dear. I bet you do.”
* * *
Courtney sat at the dinner table, cringing beneath the gaze of the two halves who sat at either end. Sebastian had gone to bed early and Solphia had left for the evening to spend some time with her sister in the village.
“Let’s talk about today,” Marcas said, entwining his fingers and leaning forward on the hardwood slab. “Of all the things to do, why place your health in jeopardy? You are an intelligent woman, why act in such foolishness?”
“I was trying to make a point,” Courtney pouted, playing with the food on her plate. “You aren’t always the most attentive listener.”
“I listen quite well when it’s something worth paying attention to,” the other Marcas snapped. “How dare you be so obstinate? You must learn how to conduct yourself in the position you will be assuming!”
“Don’t you yell at me! Obstinate? You want to talk about obstinate!!!? You are the most stubborn, immovable asshole on this entire planet!”
“Courtney, sit down and lower your voice. There will be no screaming or profanity at my table,” Marcas ordered firmly.
“Tell him that! Oh, you two are impossible!” She slammed her napkin down and stomped away.
“I think it is time she meets our more unpleasant side,” Marcas said sadly.
The other nodded, standing, “She will not be harmed, however, you are not to interfere unless you choose to participate.”
“I will consider that. Please, be careful of her heart.”
“Be more concerned about the state of her bottom. I will also stay with her tonight.”
“Very well. I will be down here with Sebastian.”
Marcas stopped by his room to change into more comfortable clothing and grab some items to emphasize his intent. With long, solid steps he strolled to the far wing and down the hall to Courtney’s chamber. The door was locked.
“Courtney, open this door. “
“No. I’m not going to let you touch me.”
“I was not asking you. You are already in deep waters, young lady.”
“No! Leave me alone,” she yelled from the other side of the door. “You’re so unfair! It was the
only way to get you to listen to me!”
“It was a childish way to get my attention, and you succeeded. You manipulated me by using yourself as a weapon to get your way and that will never occur again. You played with fire today, precious, and you will be burned.”
“Go away.”
“Courtney, open this door now or I will kick it in. That will make me angrier than I already am. One… two…”
The latch clicked and Marcas entered, watching as Courtney climbed up onto her bed and held a pillow next to her chest, facing the duvet. Marcas sat on the edge of the bed, placing something on the cedar chest at the footboard.
“You have greatly disappointed me today, Courtney. Your behavior was unacceptable. I did not think you were capable of such… immaturity.”
“We all have it in us, just some of us accept it better than others. Why can everyone else show their bad sides and I can’t? Why do I always have to be the perfect professional? Why?!”
“No one asked you to behave in any manner other than being yourself. Today… it was not a part of you I have seen before and it disturbed me greatly.”
“Well, too bad. It’s part of who I am and you better get used to it if you really plan on keeping me around,” Courtney challenged him, surprising herself with her boldness.
“Well, then, my only option is to say that I will adjust to it. As you will also adjust to being disciplined harshly when you choose to allow yourself to act so childishly as you did today.”
“You’re mean! I was protecting you! He wanted to leave you home,” Courtney snapped. She also found it interesting that this side of him, although angry and simmering just beneath the surface, was constrained and unflappable as she argued with him. That quietness frightened her more than had he started shouting.
“Come to me and accept your punishment.”
Courtney shook her head, pushing further into the head board and digging deeper under her blankets. Gone was the sensual, lusting, and stalking sex beast. In his place was pure disciplinarian, pure power and pure intent. She was scared.
Marcas sensed her fear and slowly stood to face her. His silver eyes were hard and cold as he looked down at her. “The sooner you come to terms with the consequences of disobedience, the sooner this encounter will be finished.”
“I’m not going to submit to a beating!” Courtney hissed.
“This side of me might be a complete asshole, my dear, but it does not abuse. I am not capable of such cruelty, even in my hardest state. You’ve earned punishment and you will receive it. Now, come over here immediately.”
“No,” Courtney whispered, unable to move even if she had chosen to.
Marcas shook his head and easily reached across the bed to catch hold of her ankle, pulling her towards him as she yelled for him to release her, and pulled up armfuls of the blankets and sheets as she tried to fight him. He tsked, quickly untangling her from the bedding and grabbed hold of her earlobe.
“Ow! Let go! Marcas, please!!” Courtney pleaded, hanging onto his hand to release the pressure from her ear as he pulled her to stand before him. He released his hold and placed his hand on his hips, watching as her audaciousness suddenly melted into meekness. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to have to make you angry or disappoint you. I was just trying to make a point. You don’t see the struggle I’m having.”
“I certainly do, but throwing a fit and trying to harm yourself will not make me reconsider. Take off your clothes.”
“Marcas…”
“I said, take of your clothes. Every stitch. You are to be naked for punishment. Do not defy me. It will only result in more unpleasantness. You said you wished to see the best and the worst of who I am, and you shall. Tonight. Prove your sincerity. Remove your clothing.”
The power in his command forced the trembling Courtney to obey. Her fingers felt clumsy as she tried to unbutton the blouse she wore, and her welling tears made it difficult to see. Marcas grimly watched, arms crossed and leaning against the poster of the bed. Each article fell on the floor and she stood before him, shivering in the center of the large room.
“Pick up your clothes, fold them and put them away.”
Without a sound, Courtney submitted to him. She hung her blouse in the closet and placed the slacks in the dresser drawers. Her underwear was placed in the hamper in the bathroom where she paused to look at her naked body and reprimand herself for her stupidity. With a nervous swallow, she returned to the room and stood before him, flushed with embarrassment.
“Kneel. Hands on your head, knees apart.”
“Marcas, this is silly,” Courtney argued. His eyes bored down at her until she gracefully lowered herself to kneel as his feet, noticing that her clean shaven mounds were already wet with her unsolicited arousal. Today, though, she would not receive pleasure.
“Silence. Do not move,” Marcas commanded, walking around and studying the outline of her firm, well-kept body. “Your body is perfect. You work hard to keep it healthy and balanced, yet you would destroy it simply to force me to comply with your demands? Unacceptable.”
“I’m sorry…”
“SILENCE!” his voice boomed in her ear. Courtney cringed, her hands unknowingly grabbing at her hair. “You say you love me, yet you wish to hurt me by harming yourself? That is not love, femeie, that is selfishness. I did not think you were capable of such a thing.”
Courtney said nothing as a shame-filled tear dripped down her cheek. He was right and her shoulders slumped with humiliation as she acknowledged her fault. Marcas continued to walk around her kneeling form. She felt something cool touch her shoulder blades and run slowly down her back, resting upon the top of her right buttock. A snap was heard and a sharp, pinching sensation caused her to yelp loudly.
“Sit back on your haunches, spread your knees wider. Do not move,” he ordered, watching as her heels pressed her bottom cheeks further out from her body. He touched the soft bulge of her left buttock with the tip of the long crop and snapped it sharply, leaving a bright pink mark. Courtney bit her lip, closing her eyes to the sting. Again, Marcas snapped the crop’s leather tongue to leave a biting welt on the other side.
“How many times did you try to talk with me about staying here apart from the other? Answer me, Courtney!”
“None.”
“None. Had you spoken with me, what do you think I would have done?”
“I don’t know. OWW!” she yipped as the crop landed four times on the peaks of her bottom. He walked around to stand in front of her, placing the tip of the crop on the insides of her thighs.
“Spread farther. Now answer me.”
“Made the decision for yourself?” she panted. Marcas snapped the tip on the inside of her left thigh and she squealed.
“Precisely. And that decision would have been what I felt was best.”
“I’m sorry. Please, forgive me… I did what I thought I needed to.”
He flicked the inside of her other thigh, seeing her legs tremble as the searing pain rattled her.
“You thought you needed to put yourself in danger. You thought wrong. I cannot trust you to care for yourself now. To take away my trust is a bad thing, to abuse it is even worse. You trusted me to be mindful of you and used it against me. That is why you are being punished tonight. To your feet. Keep your hands in place.”
Courtney scrambled to obey, her legs shaking from the position and aware of the small biting areas where the crop had licked her flesh. Her skin lifted with tiny goose-bumps as she shivered from the evening chill, and the buds of her breasts tightened to a point of discomfort as she acknowledged her nervous fear. Marcas ran his finger across one pebbly tip, shaking his head before he sharply flicked it with his finger.
“I know this is not from excitement tonight. For that, I am sorry. Arch your back and look straight ahead. Keep your eyes open.”
Courtney swallowed, trying her best to comply with his instructions as she stared at the dark wall and the shadows from the hear
th. She listened as he raised the flames of the fire and heard the clunking of small logs being tossed over the red-hot embers. The cold was quickly driven away and she felt a sheen of nervous perspiration dampen the back of her neck. Marcas poured a glass of wine from the decanter on the table and sat down to study her as he sipped it.
Courtney fought not to close her eyes to his formidable observation, and struggled to maintain the awkward position. She stood on display, her body framed with the flickering light from the fire, and never once considered how beautiful she was as she yielded herself and melted into the state of submission. Marcas stared boldly in appreciation, memorizing every curve, every angle. The tiny scar on her right abdomen from an emergency appendectomy… a sweet, red rose on her left hip commemorating her graduation from OCS… a small puckered wound to her right shoulder…
“Where did that scar come from?” he asked, pointing to it. Courtney followed his finger with her eyes.
“I was hit by a bullet while pulling a soldier into the medvac,” she whispered, the broken silence unsettling her.
“That was very brave of you.”
“I was doing my job. I was there to save lives and I did it as best as I could.”
“And now… you watch these lives end. You understand why I must punish you, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered “You love me and I abused your trust.”
“Yes. Grab your ankles. Do not bend your knees and look straight again. Spread your legs a little more.”
Courtney lowered her hands to follow his direction, clutching her slender ankles and fighting to maintain her balance as she struggled with the demeaning position that exposed her private parts completely to his view. He had seen her naked many times, yet this time she actually felt completely bare and totally defenseless. His calm demeanor and poignant focus on how she had caused him pain distressed her greatly, and Courtney felt the growing need to pay the price for her behavior… to find a way to please him again. She could no longer deny that she had earned this time with him, yet she dreaded what was to come.
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