“I’m so sorry, Bo.”
“I got work at a larger iron works, yet it still didn’t pay nearly enough to rescue her. Things were beginning to look up when I turned twenty and became a full-fledged blacksmith, but she was in too deep. She had borrowed money from him to buy my apprenticeship, I learned later. I didn’t have enough to make good all of her debt, and he wouldn’t let her go without repayment. It was a horrible situation and she had done it all for me.”
She curled into him, burying her lips against his throat. “Honey, please, don’t torture yourself.”
“I felt so helpless. Then one night, when she didn’t come home I went searching. I found her in an alley battered, bloody, and barely breathing. I carried her to the local physician, though it was too late. Her injuries were severe and she died in my arms. But not before she whispered what had happened. I lost control, Coral. I couldn’t let him get away with killing her, and I thought about all the other women who might someday face the same fate.”
“I imagine you saved many with your actions, and he deserved no less than what he got.”
“You know the rest, two sailors kept me from killing him. Then, having nothing to keep me in the city except a possible jail sentence, I packed up what little I had and headed west.” Abruptly he rolled them both and she found herself beneath him, his hand under her chin holding her gently as he searched her upturned face. “I’m not a violent man by nature, Coral. Other than that long ago night and the time with Jack McCreedy.” His brows drew together and his mouth tightened as he agonized over his behavior. “I was angry and imbibed in too much whiskey, an occasional vice of my father which I’ve also tried to avoid.”
“Bo…”
“The liquor and you turning from me, combined with the thoughts of you with another man—”
“I never! You know that.”
“I do now, though at the time, I let my emotions get the best of me. Now that I have you, I won’t let that happen again. And never would I hurt you. You can expect to feel my hand on your backside when you put yourself in danger, but I’ll never come to you in anger, Coral, or mauled on whiskey, I swear.”
“You haven’t, Bo, and I trust that you won’t ever. You’ve been loving and gentle and kind, always. Even the spankings. I can’t say they didn’t sting, and a time or two they may have been deserved—”
“A time or two! You have a fondness for running around alone at night. How you survived New York City unscathed is a mystery to me—”
She stopped his frustrated flurry with two fingers pressed against his lips. “What I’m trying to say is despite my protests, other than a rosy red warmth, not once did you leave a mark. My father’s paddle was not so forgiving when I was a child.” Her hand moved over his beloved face, her thumb trailing along the fullness of his lower lip, her fingertips testing the smoothness of his jaw, noting he must have shaved before coming to bed. “I know I can be stubborn, and impulsive, and at times I’m sure I’ll make you want to pull your hair out, but I love you, Bo, and I want to be with you, always, even if that means a trip over your lap now and then. I’ll try to curb those tendencies, yet after twenty-nine years, I can’t guarantee I’ll be one hundred percent successful.” She wriggled a little in his arms, all the talk about his hand on her bottom was very arousing. With candor she added, “And I can’t say I’ll mind it all that much, being over your knees, anyway.”
He huffed a small laugh as he gathered her closer, burying his face in her hair. “I’ll keep that in mind, but on my honor, you have nothing to fear from me. I promise that.”
She pushed out of his arms, bracketing his face with her hands as she looked into his eyes. “I know that you’ll keep that promise, husband. Because you love me, as much as I love you, don’t you?”
“Jag älskar dig, min skatt.”
Coral grinned at him with watery eyes. “I’m sure that means something lovely and romantic, Bo, but…”
“I love you, my treasure. Always.” His fingers plunged into her hair and he kissed her with the hungry passion he’d shown her in the past.
He broke from her lips only long enough to whisk her gown over her head, then with tongue and avid lips, he returned to rob her of breath and lucid thought. When she was trembling and moving restively beneath him, he moved down her body, trailing his lips along her chin and down her throat to her breasts. Capturing a hard nipple between his teeth, he lashed the tip with his hot tongue as his hand plucked and rolled the other achy peak. He lingered long enough to have her back bowing off the bed and her groans filling the air, before he continued downward with his slow, sensuous torture.
He licked down the midline of her belly, blowing warm and gentle breaths across the tuft of red curls as his large hands spread her thighs wide. Then, plainly done with his teasing, he dove into the honeyed treasure he delighted in so often since their marriage.
For Coral, it was too much. She cried out as his heated tongue danced circles around the pleasure spot that had ached for him these past five days. Her hands dove into his hair, pulling him in closer as her hips came off the bed and she succumbed to the ecstasy his mouth always brought her. But he wasn’t nearly done.
“I thought of nothing else while locked in that shabby jail for nearly a week. You’ll not get off so easily, älskling.” Wedging his shoulders between her widespread legs, he pinned her to the bed and went in for seconds, laving the throbbing nub that pulsed rhythmically after her climax. He also dipped down and his tongue delved deep, the growls of pleasure rising in the air that of a starving man partaking of a succulent, tasty treat. His hands moved to cup her bottom as he lifted her against his mouth, voracious in his hunger for her. Another climax built within her, exploding in waves of liquid delight as she convulsed around his agile tongue. He surely felt it in the ripples of her core, the clasping of her thighs around his head, and the clenched fingers gripping his hair as she called his name while finding it once again.
Then he moved quickly, rising over her and flipping her over onto her hands and knees. In an instant, he drove into her from behind, her body welcoming him with the clenching slickness of her channel. This was no gentle homecoming, more like a forceful reclaiming of what was his as he slammed into her, driving deep and hard and fast, and she loved it. The power of his hips forced her up the bed until she had to reach above her and brace herself on the headboard or be hammered through it.
Despite all of this, she wanted more. “Harder, Bo,” she cried out into her wadded up pillow.
He growled in response, his fingers curling around her hips and pulling her back to meet his driving thrusts, their skin slapping loudly with each forceful stroke.
“Heavenly mercy,” she moaned as she felt the need inside her build yet again.
He heard as well and brought his hand down upon her upturned cheek. “You’re ahead two to none, Coral. Wait for me. This time we’ll spend together.”
The tingling warmth of his hand swatting her bottom sent a ripple of pleasure coursing through her. He either sensed it or felt the waves rolling through her, for he did it again, bringing another crisp swat down on the other side. Her head arched back and she released an impassioned cry, “If you want me to wait, stop spanking me, Bo. It feels too good.”
He chuckled hoarsely. “Never, sweetheart.” Two more quick hot slaps landed on her taut, upthrust cheeks.
“Bo!”
“Damn. You’re too hot, wet and tight for me to wait any longer. Come with me now, Coral.”
Another sizzling swat landed smack dab in the center of a quivering globe. It was enough to send her over the edge and she moaned out her ecstasy into the rumpled linens. Above her, he growled his own release, not slowing his driving movements as his passion spilled hotly inside her. He kept it up, pumping hard and fast into her until her convulsing body, replete from repeated pleasure, relaxed and eased beneath his own. Only then did he slow and bend over her, kissing the damp tendrils curling on her neck, and along the curve of her shoul
der.
A moment of slow leisurely glides into her warm, wet channel and he stopped, dropping onto the bed at her side and curling his big body around her from behind. Still joined, he encircled her with his long arms and buried his face in her hair.
She couldn’t move, drained from the trio of climaxes her husband had so generously given her.
“You pose quite a challenge, raring.”
“Hm?” Unable to put words together, the sound would have to do.
“You enjoy spankings so much they make you come apart beneath my hands, you’ll have to be especially good, or I’ll have to be exceptionally creative with punishments in the future.”
She closed her eyes, a small quirk of a tired smile curving her lips as she leaned back against him. Happy to be home and in his arms again, she didn’t mind at all that he’d have to be creative. It boded well for her, because he always saw to her pleasure after. She wiggled her warm, tingling bottom back against him, enjoying the feel of his length still imbedded inside her. With a sigh of contentment, she then promptly went to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
After a brief hug, and angling her face up to receive a kiss upon her forehead, he watched as the tall man set his hat atop his head, and strode out into the dark of the evening. It was Friday night and as had become the norm in these past three months, her father had joined them for supper.
Tonight had gone much better than the first evening, which had been strained and awkward, especially when it had come as a surprise to him, her husband, that the man who angered him more than any he’d run across since arriving in California, was to dine at his table.
He remembered the emotional evening in detail, replaying it as he stared out the window into the dark moonless night.
After Bo had sent a clear message by deliberately leaving him staring after them on Main Street in Shady Springs, her father had travelled to San Francisco and spent several weeks setting up his new offices. He’d sent a grumbling Harvey back east, his disappointment over not having Coral soothed only slightly by the promise of an increased profit sharing arrangement of the new business. Evan had hired a branch manager and once things were operating smoothly, or as well as a booming trade business could in a rapidly growing port city, he’d taken the stage back to Culpepper Cove, his goal to settle the stormy waters with his only daughter, come to know his new son-in-law, and wait to welcome the grandchildren he hoped would be forthcoming.
This he’d explained to a furious Bo over dinner eight weeks ago. At the time, he couldn’t fathom Coral’s smiling acceptance and forgiveness of the man. She’d explained that she saw shades of the father she’d known and loved dearly as a child. Bo, on the other hand, saw nothing but a calculating, controlling man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He was also displeased with his wife, who, of course, knew in advance he was coming or she wouldn’t have prepared a roast pork with all the trimmings big enough for the three of them. This wasn’t lost on Bo as he barely refrained from slamming the door behind the man who had departed early after the uncomfortable evening.
With the door locked behind him, he’d turned and with his arms crossed over his chest, had glared at his new bride.
“You deliberately withheld that we were having a dinner guest who you knew I wouldn’t approve of.”
Like a deer facing down a charging bear, she froze in the face of his anger. Her eyes darted to the door, as if contemplating her escape, but running from a conflict was an old habit she had vowed to keep in her past. He felt a glimmer of pride, despite his fury, when she tilted her chin up and faced his displeasure.
“You would have said no,” she murmured softly.
“Damn right! That man had me jailed and was ready to cart you off to New York. He also had you declared as mentally deficient, Coral. What in heaven’s name were you thinking inviting him into our home?”
“He’s my father, Bo. And he’s promised to change. He wants me to be happy and wants to spend his waning years close to his family.”
“Waning years…” He spat out the words as if they were bitter on his tongue. “That man is too ornery to die before his hundredth birthday!”
“Please, honey,” she urged, slowly moving closer. “He wants to try to make up for the past, and I want that too. Can’t you do this for me?”
His scowl deepened. “I won’t be railroaded by tricks and deceit, wife. In the future, you discuss your plans beforehand, especially if they include inviting someone to dinner when you know they will rile my temper.”
“Yes, sir.” She agreed far too easily, for his liking. Her sudden about face by assuming a meek and biddable wifely attitude rousing his suspicion.
“And that right there is just as manipulative.”
“What?”
“Batting those long lashes and being all amenable. You think to charm me into getting your way.”
“Will it work?” she dared retort.
“Coral!”
“Bo, please. He’s my father.”
“Fine. We’ll see if he shows his true colors. In the meantime, you, my meddlesome bride, will see how your bottom feels when I change it to the color red. In the bedroom and over the bed.”
“Bo!”
“Don’t argue and make it worse for yourself.”
“You’re angry. You said you’d never spank me out of anger.”
“I promised I wouldn’t and I keep my vows. I’m mostly disappointed with you, but I don’t recommend you test me by pushing me. I’m going out to make a final check on the horses. When I get back, I want you in your gown; have it up to your waist and your bottom bared as you await me bent over the side of our bed. And lay out my razor strop. I still owe you a taste of leather. Understood?”
Her eyes flew wide. “Bo, I—”
“You’re stalling, Coral. I asked if you understood what is expected of you?”
Her lip turned down in a pretty pout and it was all he could do not to pull her close and kiss it from her lips. He refrained long enough for her to murmur, “Yes, I understand.”
He grunted and the next instant was out the door. On the other side, as a screech owl let out an ear splitting hoot, he smiled as he heard her feet pounding up the stairs. She must have decided not to try his patience further and risk more than what he already had planned for her vulnerable behind.
He hadn’t given her a true punishment spanking in a long while. Oh, he’d warmed her bottom often enough, though usually with a few teasing swats or when he took her from behind, her upturned backside too tempting to resist. Those spanks had roused her passion, nothing like the blistering smacks she deserved for her scheme this night. She hadn’t been tender after their play, but he expected her to be after this one and intended that she’d remember it before repeating her mistake.
Their marriage was too important for him to let something as important as this slide.
* * *
It took him about half an hour to complete his night time chores, a shorter time than usual since he wanted to get back to her and put this business behind them. As the door creaked open and he stepped inside, she twisted around to look at him, though not moving from the position he’d required. She was so beautiful, her flawless skin bared as he’d requested, the curves and tempting hollows calling to him to make her scream in pleasure not cry out in pain, but he wouldn’t tolerate games of deceit in his marriage, and if it required her bottom being tender and sore for her to learn that, so be it.
He approached without a word, her green eyes wide as she watched him. Beside her lay the leather strop. Two and a half inches wide and a foot and a half in length, it had a handle on one end, the other squared to keep it from cupping between uses. He’d had it for years and the leather was supple, not nearly as rigid as it used to be. He’d thought often that it needed to be replaced. It would be perfect as a spanking strap and be less apt than his belt to mar her skin, still, he had no intention of using it on her. His threat all bluster now that the moment of reckoni
ng was nigh.
The bed shifted as he sat down beside her and without further delay, pulled her over his lap. She didn’t resist, not when he tucked her body close to his or angled her head down toward the floor. The sent her bottom tipping upward in the perfect position for the spanking he had in mind.
“We’ve discussed why you’re over my lap, Coral. Do you have anything more to say?”
“Only that I’m sorry. I should have told you Papa was coming for dinner.”
“No, you should have come to me to discuss it before ever inviting him.” His hand came down in a searing swat. As he watched, color blossomed across her pale cheek. “You do not forego permission and beg forgiveness later, wife.”
Again, he brought his hand down on her pliant cheek. This time, on the opposite side causing it to match the rosy glow of its twin.
“But it’s my table too!”
“Agreed. No more would I spring unannounced guests on you. What if I invited Millicent Crankshaw to dine with us and expected you to engage in polite conversation with a woman you loathed?”
“My father is nothing like that cold, calculating shrew, Bo!”
“In my mind, they’re one and the same.”
“Oh!”
Any further protests were cut off by more swats as he placed them lower, beneath the swell of her delectable backside. As he continued, making the entire area of her cheeks and upper thighs blush with heat, she kicked her legs. They parted enough as she squirmed to display the wet, pink center he’d much rather be paying attention to in that moment than the lecture and punishment he was delivering to his wayward and defiant wife.
“Ouch, Bo! That stings.”
“Did you expect a few playful swats like when we’re making love? This is punishment, Coral, meant to teach a lesson.”
Claiming Coral (The Red Petticoat Saloon) Page 19