by Starla Kaye
The tempo sped up. His hand seemed to grow in size covering more of her poor bottom, landing harder and harder. She couldn't think of pleasant matters. She couldn't lie still either. Or remain quiet. "Stop! Oh, stop! It hurts! It hurts!"
"I'm not stopping until we're real clear about what is acceptable behavior and what isn't. Going against me isn't." He swatted her at least a dozen times, each swat harder than the last.
"All right! I understand!" Jennie cried out, curling her legs up and then kicking them back out. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
His pace slowed a bit, but he didn't stop. Nor did he lessen the force of the smacks. "You caused me nothing but sleepless nights since I got that wire. No doubt your folks are worried, too. Even if you supposedly left with a chaperone."
He tugged her closer again and blasted her bottom six times. She wriggled for all she was worth and screeched in misery but he snapped, "You lied to them. You took a foolish risk with your life. You will never, ever do so again. Do you understand me?"
"Yes! Oh, yes!" she sobbed out. Fire. Fire danced over her bottom. Pain, so much pain throbbed in her buttocks. "I'm sorrryyy."
"Did you come here to try and convince me to go back to Boston?" His hand settled on her aching bottom.
"Yes," she gasped and then felt him tense. Even with all the pain she was suffering, she knew she'd said the wrong thing.
"I'm not going, but you are. First stage headed back east." His tone was sad, heavy with disappointment.
She looked back at him, ignored the tears streaming down, and her heart wrenched at his resigned expression. "No. I'm not leaving." At least not now. She wasn't ready to give up on Boston yet, or on him.
He scowled. "If you're staying, then I'm going to continue with the spanking. You need to understand that when I say 'no' I mean it. I won't have you trying to trick me."
Continue with the spanking? Oh heavens! But if she didn't accept it... She lowered her head and attempted to settle into place again. She'd married a very stubborn man.
Her husband took that as agreement and his hand rose and fell with increased intensity. "You aren't going to sit comfortably for at least a day, darlin'. But you are going to recall this lesson every time you even think about going against me."
Jennie cried her misery until she lost her voice. She jerked and kicked and squirmed until finally she just lie limply over his lap. It seemed like he spanked her forever, but finally he stopped. She barely noticed as she was sobbing so hard. Then he carefully pulled the drawer curtains back into place and shifted her skirt down as well.
"You can get up now."
It took her a few seconds to calm down enough to awkwardly crawl off his lap. Every movement made the fabric rub against her flaming bottom and she sucked in shaky breaths. Her hands shot around to cover her bottom and she could feel the heat through the layers of fabric. For some reason she began shifting from foot to foot, gently rubbing her bottom. It didn't help. It hurt. A lot.
He watched her without the least look of 'I'm sorry I had to do that.' After a minute he said, "I'm hoping I don't have to turn you over my knee again for a good long spell, Jennie."
She wanted to stand still, to stop rubbing, but couldn't do either one. She sniffled and said, "I don't like spankings."
He grinned crookedly. "They're not meant to be enjoyed. At least not spankings I give."
Jennie saw tenderness creeping into his eyes and she wanted to be held by him, be comforted. But she was a little uncertain she could stand being made love to just yet. Still, she asked quietly, "Are you going to make love to me tonight? Maybe after you've stopped being so mad at me."
He stood and hugged her gently, resting his chin on the top of her head. His hands smoothed over her back. "My mad ended with that last hard swat." He leaned back to look at her. "I'm thinking you might want to ride me this time. Not be quite so hard on your bottom."
She blinked at him, surprised and intrigued. Ride him? She'd read about such things in a scandalous book once, a book she'd gotten lectured by her father for reading when he'd found it. "Yes, I'd like to try that."
Daniel grinned and she noticed how his hard rod shoved at her stomach with them standing so close. Then his expression turned serious again, determined. "First, though, you need to spend some time in the corner." He motioned toward the corner by the fireplace.
"Corner?" She remembered her friend mentioning that sometimes her father made her stand with her nose in the corner of her bedroom. Her friend hadn't liked it, but it was usually either do it or get another spanking. "Why?" she asked cautiously. She didn't want another spanking, nor did the idea of standing in a corner appeal to her.
His hands shifted down to cover her still throbbing bottom. "It's part of being punished." He released her and then turned her toward the corner, nudging her toward it. "After every punishment I give you, you'll spend fifteen minutes or so in the corner. It'll give you time to think over why you got disciplined. Time to let the sting in your backside settle in good so you'll remember it."
"But..." She tried to resist, but not very much.
He settled her in the corner, pushing her forward until her nose touched the wall. She winced as the fabrics tightened over her aching buttocks and started to reach back.
He stopped her hands and moved them in front of her. "No. No more trying to rub away the pain. Stand here and think about how you're not going to disobey me again. Think about how you'll go over my knee for another spanking if you do."
"Can I think about making love to you?" she asked in a whisper.
"I'm counting on that." He sighed and stepped away.
* * *
Daniel looked at his very proud, very spoiled wife standing obediently in the corner where he'd put her. He really hadn't considered doing such a thing. But it had occurred to him as he'd roasted her bottom that she was going to need more than a hot backside for him to get through to her sometimes. If she had to withstand a few embarrassing minutes in the corner after being punished, he thought maybe it would help. Anyway, he was going to give it a try.
He found himself beginning to breathe in deep, shuddery breaths, beginning to focus all too much on that sweet, heart-shaped bottom thrust out at him. His trousers were growing mighty uncomfortable. If he didn't do something to distract him, he would be going to her and ripping that fancy traveling dress off her. He would be bending her over that table and...
"Stay put until I come for you," he ordered huskily and strode over by the door to get her trunk.
He toted it to the small bedroom and wondered where in the hell she was going to put her clothes. Guess he needed to order one of those wardrobe cabinets he'd seen in the mercantile's catalogue. Then he remembered Jennie telling him she was having three more trunks shipped. Damn, she had a lot of clothes. But then she came from a wealthy Eastern family--just as he did. He'd once had far more clothes than he needed. Not anymore. He'd given up all of that and shed his fine, fancy ways, too. But could his wife do the same? He still held serious doubts about their marriage. But she would have to accept him and this way of life or go back to live with her parents. He could compromise on a lot of things, but going back to live under his father's thumb--or her father's thumb--wasn't one of them.
Setting the trunk down by the row of six pegs that held his clothes, he sighed. His life was sure going to take a drastic change now that Jennie had arrived. Was he already too set in his ways? He had routines of when he watched over the town, of when he worked his small ranch, and of when he spent time with his brothers. How would Jennie fit into it all?
He turned and spotted her still standing there; although she was now reaching back to gently rub at her tender bottom. His shaft hardened even more. His hands ached to smooth all over that pinkened flesh, to smooth over other parts of her body. Well, he planned to enjoy her while she was here.
"All right, darlin', you can step out of the corner now." He knew it hadn't been more than a few minutes, but he didn't think he could las
t any longer without driving deep into his wife. He began unbuckling his belt, undoing his trousers. "I can't wait until later, until your bottom has more time to recover. I need you. Now."
Jennie straightened and turned slowly to face him. Her gaze landed on his opened trousers and how he held his rock hard cock in one hand. Her cheeks grew pink but she smiled and hurried toward him.
"It's even bigger than I remembered," she said breathlessly, reaching to touch him. "Can I? Can I touch it?"
Daniel allowed just a second of her curious touching his rod and then stepped back. "Another time, darlin'. I've been needing you for far too long."
She looked disappointed for an instant, then started to fight with the buttons on her close-fitting bodice. He didn't have the patience for removing the many clothes she had on. Instead he put his hand in the waistband of her long skirt and tugged. A button flew across the room, then another and another. After that the yards of fabric shimmied to the floor at her feet and she stood there in fancy top, drawers, stockings, and shoes.
"Now.Right damn now."
"That's something we definitely agree on, husband." She surprised him by shoving down his trousers until they bunched around his knees. An instant later she pushed him back to the bed, and then shoved him until he fell backward on to the quilt top.
He saw the gleam of determination in her blue eyes and scooted further onto the bed, waiting, curious.
She crawled onto the feather mattress, her legs on each side of his, her gaze now focused on her goal. She rose up over the cock he held and slid down on him with a groan of delight. But when her sore bottom brushed against him, she sucked in a breath and frowned at him.
He could barely think straight, barely keep from driving upward. But her frown amused him and he said, "I'm not apologizing. You got your butt spanked and that's that."
She used her inner muscles to squeeze him until he moaned. Then she smiled in satisfaction. "I don't like getting spanked, Daniel. Not at all." She squeezed him again and trembled. "But I sure like this."
After that she rode him like she'd being doing it all her life. Neither of them lasted long and they cried out in release at nearly the same moment. Daniel wasn't sure he could ever move again and he sure didn't want her moving away from him. He encouraged her to stretch over him and then he held her tightly, fingering the long mass of hair that had fallen free during her wild ride.
He cupped the buttocks he'd spanked and she winced but didn't protest. She'd taken his punishment, accepted his desperate need for her, but he still worried about their future. "I love you, my Jennie."
"I love you, too," she whispered against him, her breathing becoming heavy. She didn't even seem aware that he was still inside her, that his shaft was growing again.
He tried to settle down, think about something besides waking her and taking her once more. She was tired from her trip. Probably even more tired from all that sobbing she'd done when he'd spanked her. He'd let her rest for now. It wasn't a hardship holding her to him. But it would be a hardship letting her go should she not accept his determination to stay here in Dryfork. He couldn't go back to Boston to live, even if it meant losing his wife. Which he sure as hell hoped he wouldn't.
Chapter Two
"I'll be home for supper around 5 or so," Daniel stated as he grabbed his hat from a peg by the door. He'd stayed here with Jennie for two days, getting her settled in, showing her around the small ranch. His brothers Ben and Adam had covered for him, but now he needed to get back to his job.
"I'm supposed to cook something, I assume," Jennie said, sounding less than thrilled. "On my own."
He glanced at her sitting at the table, looking warily at the big cookstove. His pretty wife could hold her own in society and hostess any fancy function, having been trained by her mother and having attended a young woman's school--which as far as he could figure out, had taught her nothing useful. She had no idea what to do in a kitchen. He'd learned that the hard way when she'd burst into tears and admitted as much her first night here. He'd tried to teach her what little he knew since then, which hadn't been much. He'd usually eaten his meals in town at the hotel's dining room or at Thompson's Cafe. Most of his brothers did the same.
As if she read his thoughts, she raised her chin and snapped, "I can learn to do this! I'm sick and tired of you sighing in disgust and saying 'This isn't going to work out' every time I fail at something. I am not hopeless, Daniel Braddock."
All right, he had probably said such words at least a half dozen times in the last couple of days. Maybe more. But she'd not known how to do even the most basic chores. She couldn't light a fire in the cookstove, or keep it going. She couldn't make biscuits without spilling more flour than she got in the mixing bowl. Breaking eggs without dripping the goo everywhere...nope, couldn't do that either. He didn't want to think about more than that.
He tried his best not to give another discouraging sigh. "But do you want to learn, Jennie? Really want to learn? You weren't raised for this kind of life."
That stubborn chin thrust out further. "Neither were you."
He stiffened but realized he couldn't deny what she'd said. His father was probably the most powerful, most respected lawyer in Boston. His family had old money and they were at the top of society. He and his brothers had all been groomed to follow in their father's footsteps: to go to law school and join his firm. None of them had ever wanted that, not even Adam who was the only one who had gone to law school. And now he lived here in Dryfork sometimes practicing law, mostly being a barber. Daniel didn't want to think about any of his brothers, especially Adam right now.
"Back to my question, do you want to learn how to be a wife?" He still had trouble seeing them staying together for very long. They might have once been from the same type of life, but their preferences were far different now.
She gave him a saucy smile and swept her gaze up and down his body from the tips of his dusty boots to his worn Stetson. He felt it like a caress and damn if his cock didn't start swelling. "Stop that! I'm talking about more than in bed."
"Take me into town with you today," she abruptly changed the subject. She stood and walked determinedly toward him, unconcerned that there were dirty dishes left on the table.
Daniel frowned. "We don't have a maid." Of course, he probably should have carried his own dish and coffee cup to the sink.
Stopping in front of him, she followed his gaze back to the table. Her cheeks grew pink. "Oh, right." She went back to carry the dishes to the cast iron sink next to the pump. With a bit of effort and only a small grunt, she managed to work the handle and get enough water to cover the food-crusted plates. "There. That should do for now. I'll clean them later when we get back."
He should have left while she was distracted, but he'd been distracted, too. Her entire body captured his attention as she used the pump. Especially the bounce of those plump breasts. He was almost sweating from the strain of not going to her and bending her over to take her right there at the sink.
As she turned in his direction, she smirked at the obvious sight of his arousal. "And now who is thinking about what happens in bed?"
"Other places, too," he muttered, fighting his thoughts about staying here another day and making love to his wife...in bed, on the table...
She blinked at him, looking intrigued. But she walked past him with some definite additional sway to her backside and then went out the door. "Let's go. I need to get some things in town at the mercantile. And I'd like to look around Dryfork today since I didn't have much chance when I arrived here."
Neither mentioned just why he'd hurried her out of town and to his ranch that day. Her first day here she'd gone through both good times and bad times, with the bad times coming first--when he'd given her the first spanking of her life. The first of what he was sure would be many. His Jennie was going to be a trial, but he'd sensed that from the moment they'd met. Still, he wanted her with him.
* * *
As Daniel lifted her d
own from the buckboard in front of Henderson's Mercantile, Jennie's blue eyes danced with excitement. Halfway to town, he'd reluctantly told her to purchase whatever she needed or wanted for their home. She'd immediately begun relating a staggering list of items that she believed they couldn't live without, things he hadn't missed at all. Now he felt as if he needed to calm her down a bit. He could afford whatever she desired, but that wasn't the point. Her life here with him would be different than how she'd lived in the past. She needed to understand that.
"We have a small place, Jennie. We don't really have room for a lot of what you talked about." He hated the way disappointment flashed across her expression before she attempted to hide it.
She looked away, out over Main Street's dirt road. "I was just talking about some day. We don't need all of that right now." Then she met his gaze with such hope that he would have promised her anything and knew he'd be adding onto the house before long.
"The wardrobe? Can I order it?" At his nod, she appeared relieved and dared to add, "A copper bathing tub, too? Please."
The vision he had of her sitting naked in it made his rod swell and press at the front of his trousers. His breathing was ragged as he again nodded. "The matching dishes and more utensils, too. And I guess curtains, new bed sheets, and a quilt." Now he was seeing her spread naked over that quilt, looking up at him with sweet invitation.
He drew in a heavy breath and turned back to the buckboard. "I'll take this down to the livery stable. When you're ready to head home, come find me at the sheriff's office."
* * *
Jennie watched her husband hurry away, smiling secretly because she'd seen the way his pants had tented out. He'd been having naughty thoughts about the two of them. He'd had them before they left the ranch, too. It would have been nice to indulge in them. She hadn't realized what a sexual person she was, and it was very nice to know that Daniel was as well.