With a sparkle in her eye, Jessica said, “Dating. Jake and Buttercup.”
Wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist, with a wink, Ray said, “Now, Jessica, mind your business and let my sister get on to her boyfriend’s house.”
Buttercup mumbled, “He is not my boyfriend. Not officially.”
Giving her a knowing look, Ray mimicked his wife, saying, “He is totally your boyfriend.” With a satisfied smile on both of their faces, Ray and Jessica left Buttercup at the front door. Ray called over his shoulder, “Have a great night!”
Ignoring the little voice in her head telling her to run to her room, slam the door and never love again, Buttercup took a deep breath and opened the front door.
There in the driveway, leaning against his white truck, Jake stood, looking like a model straight out of a glossy ad. His wavy hair hung haphazardly around his face, his arms crossed against his muscular chest, his legs casually crossed at the ankles. Long and lean and waiting for her.
Straightening the emerald, empire waist, mini dress Jessica had surprised her with for the party, Buttercup slowly made her way down the stairs.
A serious look crossed Jake’s face. His eyes narrowed at her, looking her over. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Mid-step she froze. Her heart lurched into her throat.
“I thought my favorite color on you was purple. But it’s green. Those eyes. They are the prettiest things I have ever seen, little Buttercup.”
She tried to hold it back, but the relieved grin made its way across her face. “Thank you. Jessica picked it.”
“Jessica has great taste, then.”
Walking the rest of the way across the drive to the truck, she paused by Jake’s side.
Opening the door, Jake said, “Hop in.”
Holding the handle inside the door, Buttercup boosted herself up onto the running board. As she made her way into the cab of the huge truck, she gasped when she felt a slap on her bottom. Quickly, she turned and sat down, protecting her derrière. Giving her a wink, a whistling Jake shut her door firmly and made his way to the driver’s side of the truck.
Butterflies flipped within her tummy. What if Jessica was right? Was she about to find out what happens when you don’t return the call of a spanking man?
Candles were lit, and a modern sounding version of classical music was playing softly within minutes of their entrance to Jake’s cottage. Buttercup sat nervously on the edge of the couch, waiting for him to return with the two glasses of red wine he had gone in the kitchen to retrieve.
Placing one half full glass before her, Jake smiled. Seating himself beside her on the couch, Jake left a little room between the two of them. He still had not touched her save for the hug in the yard and the slap to her bottom when she had gotten into his truck.
“So, how was the party?”
Taking a sip of the wine, Buttercup let it travel slowly down, warming her from the inside. “You missed quite a show. Carrie accidently got Ms. Phillips drunk and she two-stepped the night away.”
Giving a laugh, Jake asked, “What did Wes have to say about that?”
Remembering the look and stern whispers that Wes had delivered to his wife, Buttercup felt her insides melting. Jake’s expectant gaze rested on her, waiting for an answer.
“He—wasn’t very happy with Carrie.”
“I should think not.” Jake’s words were weighted. Taking a sip of his wine, he said boldly, “I believe she will be finding herself over her husband’s knee tonight, don’t you think?”
Damning her pale complexion to hell, Buttercup flushed even deeper just knowing the pink color of embarrassment was rising to her cheeks. She took a big gulp of her wine, avoiding his gaze. Finally, she managed to stutter out, “No, it was an accident, why should she be punished?”
Placing his own glass on the coffee table, Jake crossed his ankle over his knee, leaning back and casually putting his hands behind his head. “Because she wasn’t careful, was she? Carrie had no business bartending, and my guess is she knew that. A good spanking will remind her to proceed with caution next time.”
She couldn’t respond. She couldn’t look at him. She had known what he would say before he said it. The words, though not surprising, still made the blush run hotter. Her face was now burning.
Uncrossing his legs and leaning forward, Jake said, “And you, little lady, should have at least had the decency to answer the phone and tell me if you didn’t want to speak to me anymore.”
It felt almost like a game—role play. The stern man lecturing the naughty girl. But when she considered his eyes, she knew this was no game. This was real. He did not approve of her actions, and he intended to correct her.
Taking her glass from her hands, Jake placed it on the table next to his. “Tell me, Buttercup. Do you want me to spank you?”
Covering her face with both of her hands, Buttercup shook her head in shame.
Leaning in even closer, Jake placed a hand over her knee, giving it a tight squeeze. “Buttercup, do you need me to spank you?”
Peeping in between her fingers, Buttercup made eye contact with Jake’s eyes. Sensual, kind, and firm, they looked patiently back at her, awaiting her response.
His hand gently took hers and lowered them from her shamed face to her lap. Locking his gaze on hers, he asked her again, “Buttercup—do you need me to spank you?”
Her eyes locked on his, she gave the tiniest nod of her head.
If he had done anything other than what he did in that moment, he may have lost her—forever. If he had said, ‘then put yourself over my knee right now, young lady’, she would have run, mortified from the room.
Somehow, he instinctively knew her needs.
With one, fluid movement, Jake had Buttercup turned over his knee, her torso resting across the couch, and was spanking her bottom, hard and fast. She didn’t have time to think, to debate with herself, or question. She was only able to focus on the sharp, hard swats that were landing on her rear.
“It’s rude to not answer phone calls, after the date we had. You said so yourself it was magical. And avoiding my visits. You are a very lucky little girl that I didn’t waltz right into that house and take you over my knee for the whole house to see.”
She should have been running from the room screaming. Or at least been hit by a wave of conflicting emotions. But she wasn’t. Laid over Jake’s lap, having her bottom spanked as he lectured her, Buttercup felt for the first time in her life, she was truly home.
“Where is she?” Ray peeked through the curtains for the hundredth time at the empty driveway.
Groaning, Jessica laid her head back on the couch, saying, “Give it up, Ray. She is twenty-eight years old.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, pacing the room. “She is still my little sister.”
“She has been a full-grown woman for a decade now, baby.”
Ray turned quickly, pointing his finger at Jessica. “Don’t get smart with me, young lady. I know how old Buttercup is. And she’s still too young to be out this late.” Ray checked his watch again.
Jessica erupted in a fit of giggles. “Oh, Ray. For Pete’s sake. She’s with Jake, you know she is safe.”
A sheepish look came over Ray’s face. Joining Jessica on the couch, he gave a sigh. “I guess I’m being a little over protective.”
“A little?”
“Okay—but I just got her back. I’m not ready to lose her to Jake.”
Running her hand over her husband’s thick, dark hair, Jessica said, “Think of it this way, Ray. If Buttercup ends up with Jake she will be in Poke Town for good. Jake’s business is booming. He will not want to leave that house he has worked on so hard, and with Jake loving her, Buttercup won’t have any reason to leave. The tender loving care that a man like Jake can offer is impossible to give up. Trust me, I speak from experience.”
“True. I just hope that scumbag Tom doesn’t come around here. He had such a hold on her.”
“If he d
oes, you and Jake will take care of it. And Wes if you need him for that matter. If you think Jake is going to let Buttercup out of his sight for a second now that she is back in his arms, you are mistaken.”
Giving his wife a look of utter adoration, Ray acquiesced. “You are right, honey. You almost always are. Let’s go to bed.”
“I think I’m batting higher than almost. I am just about always right.”
“Don’t push your luck. I haven’t given that ruler to Wes, yet.”
Tiptoeing over the threshold of the house, hoping not to wake anyone, Buttercup took one glance over her shoulder. Jake was leaning against his truck looking calm and confident. When he saw she was in safely, he gave a wink and a wave.
Buttercup closed the door softly, watching through the window as Jake pulled his truck down the driveway, not turning on his headlights until he was away from the sleeping house.
Leaning her back against the door, Buttercup took a deep breath. The smile that was stretched wide across her face seemed to be a permanent fixture. She could not stop the silly grin.
Feeling as if she was walking on a cloud, Buttercup made her way to the back of the house, closing her bedroom door behind her. Flinging herself down onto the bed, Buttercup let her mind wander over the events of that evening. The early morning sun was just peeking through her curtains as she thought of being held down over Jake’s firm thighs. Her cheeks blushed as she thought of the lecture he had given her—she had practically memorized it.
The spanking had not hurt too much. Just enough to make her focus on the pain, to get lost in the chastisement while Jake’s deep voice told her this was exactly what she could expect to happen if she ever decided to avoid him again.
Afterwards should have been the most awkward moment of her life. When he finished spanking and admonishing, he had pulled her up beside him on the couch, holding her in his arms. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was Jake, or Buttercup, or maybe it was just the perfect way they fit together. But when Jake held her, speaking to her softly, Buttercup felt no embarrassment. She felt complete.
He had smoothed down her hair, whispering, “There’s a good girl, Buttercup. Do you feel better after your spanking?”
Wordlessly she had nodded her head.
“You know I love you too much to let you get away. You do want to be with me, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And you want me to lead you, discipline you, protect you?”
“Yes.”
“You will let me be that man for you now, won’t you?”
“Yes, Jake.”
And then he had kissed her. And her mind left her body. She became the kiss, the connection, leaving all worry behind.
Her eyes started to close, laying on her comfortable bed and losing herself in the memory of the kiss.
There was a loud slam as the door to her bedroom flew open. “Buttercup. Time to get up!” The littlest Stevenson boy came bounding across the room, throwing himself onto her bed and bouncing up and down.
With a groan, Buttercup rolled over, trying to pretend to sleep. Two little fingers pried apart her eyelids. A little brown eye peered into hers. “Mama just dropped us off after our sleepover.”
“Why so early?” Buttercup moaned.
“She says she has a friend she had to go see. Evan says it’s a boy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. But I told Mama we needed to be back early anyway because today is the day you said you would take us to the ranch.”
Buttercup had forgotten she volunteered to take the boys out the day after the party to give Ray and Jessica a little rest time. She had no idea when she had made the commitment that she would be the one who would be awake until the sun came up.
“And it’s going to be even better than I thought because we saw Jake at the end of the driveway when we were coming in and I asked him if he could come with us and he said, ‘sure thing, sport’.” The little boy paused only long enough to catch his breath. “But Buttercup, what was Jake doing here this early? Mama said, ‘I declare there is young love brewing on the Stevenson ranch’. What does that mean, Buttercup? Are you going to have a baby with Jake?”
Placing her hand gently over his mouth, Buttercup said, “Shh. It means nothing. Jake is my friend and he can come with us, but you had best be on your best behavior.”
Giving a wide-eyed nod, Harry bounced off to tell the others the news. Jake would be joining them.
Buttercup lay back on the bed, strangely not feeling as tired as she should after her late night. Her tummy did flips at the idea of seeing Jake again so soon. She thought she would have time to process the evening longer before she saw him—but this was even better. Less time to let her brain badger her heart into falling prey to her fears.
Choosing to let her past be her past, and live in the present, she leapt from the bed. Throwing open the doors to her closet, she giggled at the blouse she chose—an emerald green long sleeve tee shirt. and locked herself in the bathroom to shower and primp.
Coming out of her bathroom, Buttercup found three little Stevenson boys sitting at attention on her bed, waiting expectantly for her to emerge.
A smile spread across her face as she thrust her hands into the pockets of her worn jeans.
“You guys are ready to go, huh?”
Evan, the oldest brother and often the trio’s spokesperson said, “Uh-huh. We like Mr. Jake.”
“I thought you all were excited about going riding with me,” she teased.
“Oh, we are. It’s just that you know— you are great and all, but you are a girl. Jake’s kind of a guy’s guy.”
Trying not to laugh out loud, Buttercup considered the serious look on Evan’s face.
“How so?”
“He built his own house,” Harry piped up.
“He drives a big truck,” Colton chimed in.
“And he can jump a horse over two barrels,” Evan added solemnly.
“Well, all right then, let me just get my boots on and we will see if Jake is back yet.”
Sitting on the chair of the little desk in the room, Buttercup grabbed her tan, leather, riding boots. She froze as she began to pull the first one on over her tight jeans.
“Are you and Jake going to get married now? We saw you kissing in the chicken coop.”
“Um,”
“Yeah. Mom and Dad are married, and they kiss all the time.”
“It’s disgusting.”
She continued to pull her boots on quietly, letting the conversation swirl around her as she avoided the answer. Her face burned at the word ‘marriage’. Ever since Jake had told her of his vision of the two of them making their way down the aisle of the old barn, she couldn’t get the idea out of her mind. But she would die of embarrassment if anyone ever found out.
Thankfully, Ray popped his head around the doorframe just in time to break up the speculations of his sons.
“Buttercup—you sure about taking this rowdy bunch out riding with you?”
“Jake’s coming too, Dad. We bumped into him in the driveway this morning.”
Wanting to hide her face in her hands, Buttercup snuck a side glance at her brother’s face. His eyebrow shot up at the news. Looking at Buttercup, he asked, “Did you boys? Just this morning you say?”
“Uh- huh. And we’d better get going because we don’t want to be late for Aunt Carrie’s pancakes.” Harry grabbed Buttercup’s hand, pulling her from the room.
“Bye, Ray,” she called over her shoulder. She hurried along with her little pack of cowboys, thankful they had gotten her out of the talk she knew her brother wanted to have with her about Jake and coming home with the sunrise.
When the four of them reached the drive, Jake was there, standing against his white truck just like she knew he would be. Hair still damp from his shower; his eyes were bright and there was not a trace of fatigue on his eager face.
“Well, there’s the three best cowboys this side of Texas has ever seen!” he exclai
med, giving the boys each a high-five in turn. After buckling the boys across the back-bench seat in the cab of his truck, Jake waited for Buttercup to climb into the passenger seat.
“You’re next,” he said, smiling.
Buttercup climbed up into her seat, but Jake did not shut the door behind her as she thought he would. Instead, he reached behind her right shoulder for the buckle to the seat belt. Reaching across her, his brown eyes locked on hers as he clicked the buckle into the latch by her hip.
Kissing her lightly on the lips, he murmured softly, “Safe and sound, just like I like you.”
Whistling a happy tune, he shut the door, walking around the front of the truck.
“Jake and Buttercup sitting in a tree...” Harry began. “Ouch—what’d you do that for?”
“Be quiet,” she could hear Evan’s serious voice whispering. “Be good so they will want to take us again.”
“Oh, okay,” Harry whispered back, loudly.
Stifling a chuckle, Buttercup cut her eyes at Jake as he climbed into his seat.
“Comfy?” he asked her with a knowing look in his eyes.
The familiar flush that seemed ever present around Jake rose in her cheeks. She knew he was referring to her bottom on her seat after the spanking he had administered just a few hours prior.
“Very, thank you,” she answered primly looking out her window and hiding her blush from him.
“You’re even prettier when you blush,” he whispered, placing his hand on her upper thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Ooh—did you hear that? Jake called Buttercup pretty. Ouch, quit elbowing me, Evan,” Colton protested.
“What’s the matter with that? She is purdy.” Harry whispered again in his louder than talking whisper voice.
Jake flashed his wide, white smile at Buttercup. “She sure is, fellas. Purdiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
They made their way to the ranch. When they arrived at the barn, Wes, Garrett and Rose were all waiting for them.
The boys piled out of the truck after Buttercup, running up to the barn and talking excitedly.
Rose quickly rallied the boys and got things in order. After a friendly hug for each of the boys, she led them into her big, red barn that she was so proud of, letting them choose the horses they wanted to ride.
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