by Livia Grant
Forgiveness. That didn’t sound so bad.
“Time to lift your skirt up.”
“Excuse me?” she squeaked.
“Punishments are always on the bare.”
“But…”
“Yes, on your butt.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant, darlin. Now, it’s time to raise your skirt and lay yourself over my lap. Or would you like some help?”
“No,” she bit out bitterly.
“Want to try that again?” At her confused look, he raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Her heart rate ratcheted up another notch, unable to deny the effect his dominance was having on her. Her tummy felt like it had butterflies in it doing somersaults she was so nervous. She should be petrified of him, like she’d been with Albert, yet she couldn’t feel real fear. Not from Charlie.
“Yes… sir.” She tried the respectful reply.
“Good girl,” he said, beaming. Her hands reached down to start pulling her skirts up to her waist. She moved at a snail’s pace, delaying as long as she could. Charlie’s eyes locked with her own and she was grateful he wasn’t looking at her bare legs as they came into view.
Once she had complied, she started to worry about his next move. Surely he wouldn’t be so improper as to…
“Let’s untie these drawers now, shall we?” His fingers moved nimbly. Her last undergarment fell to the floor around her ankles and she stood bare from the waist down. She expected the overwhelming fear that would grip her as she’d waited for Albert to beat her to take hold. To her immense relief, it never arrived.
Charlie pulled at her hips, dragging her body flush against his, angling her over his left knee and allowing her torso to splay across the lovely ecru bedspread. She was grateful when he pushed her long skirt over her body, shielding her from being able to look back and catch sight of him. He was close enough to smell his masculine scent, surrounding her—calming her.
“As this is your first spanking, I suspect you’ll be tempted to reach back to protect your bottom. I don’t want to accidentally hurt your hand so I need you to grab onto the bedspread now and not let go until your punishment is finished. Understand?”
Despite her racing heart, there was a tiny part inside begging her to submit. An odd dichotomy of emotions warred as she struggled to trust this man.
“Emelie? Are you all right, honey?” The concern in his voice had tears threatening before the first graze.
“Yes, sir. I’m fine.”
“Good girl. Time to start.”
He didn’t wait for a response. Instead of pain, she enjoyed the sensation of long fingers squeezing first her right and then left butt cheek—rubbing—massaging—caressing. They lingered until she began to relax into her submission.
The first spank of his palm startled her, but barely stung. Several long minutes went by with the only sound in the small room the rhythmic slaps and massages. The heat on her bottom was certainly rising, but at no point did it begin to feel bad. In addition to the warmth on her caboose, a new warmth had sprung up deep in her core, filling her with a needy urgency she didn’t know how to describe.
She had to fight the urge to let go of the bedspread, but it wasn’t to shield her bottom from his hand. It took all her self-control to stop from moving her fingers to her private place she’d found herself touching earlier that morning after her dream. She fought down an overwhelming urge to rub herself, feeling as if she were about to spontaneously combust as if she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning.
Emelie bit her tongue to keep from begging him to touch her, but had no chance at stopping the loud groan that escaped her lips when he briefly slipped a long finger low enough to come in contact with the forbidden area between her two cheeks.
And then the pleasure ended with a crashing palm against her backside. It felt ten times harder than any she’d received so far.
Charlie confirmed her fears. “Your warm up is over, darlin. Time to start the main attraction.” She heard rather than saw the smile she knew she’d find on his face.
As the next swift swats connected with her rosy flesh, she had an urge to reach out and smack the smirk off his handsome face. This hurt!
Emelie tried to keep her mind off the pain, counting each stroke in her head as a way to distract herself. She found it made the punishment worse when she realized he’d rained down twenty-five stern and speedy swats and yet was still going strong.
She couldn’t hold still any more. Letting go of the bedspread, she moved her hands closer and pushed her torso up in an attempt to escape. He threw his right leg over her flailing legs to hold her immobile, never missing a beat of his punishing hand.
“Stop clenching your cheeks.”
Was he crazy? Every muscle in her body tensed. Relaxing was not an option.
When she refused to comply, she felt her tummy rising as he lifted his leg beneath her, angling her body farther forward and revealing the tender spot where her butt met her thighs. His hand moved lower, pelting her sit-spots with the same hard thwacks he’d been delivering. It hurt worse in this tender location, yet each crack against her fanny felt like a direct line of fire to her core.
In a panic, she reached back with her right hand, trying to protect her punished skin. Charlie only stopped long enough to capture her right arm and hold it tight against her back, up and out of the way of her continuing chastisement.
It was in that helpless moment she reconciled the fact that there was nothing she could do to stop the punishment. Unlike in her past when this realization came with a sense of despair, today she was filled instead with a peace she’d not known in a long time. She let the tears flow she’d been blinking back, unsure how she could feel such an intimate connection to a man waling on her ass.
As Charlie charged forward with her lesson, he spoke words she’d never heard from a man before. “That’s my girl. I hope you’re learning how important you are to me by now, Emelie. We’ll be done soon and then all will be forgiven.”
Memories of the gunslinger crashed in on her. Oh how she wished this punishment could absolve her of that guilt as well. She suspected there wasn’t a spanking hard enough to wipe away that sin.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she let the sobs she’d been holding back rack her body. Tears fell to the bedspread as she cried her heart out. They were tears of regret for her many mistakes of which leaving Ruby alone in town was the least of her sins.
She felt as if she were floating with an unexpected euphoria when she realized her punishment was over. Strong arms held her close, lifting her to first stand before pulling her sore little bottom down into Charlie’s lap.
Emelie clung to him, her arms snaked around his neck as she snuggled into the crook of his neck and sobbed her heart out. He held her close, stroking her hair gently, whispering words of forgiveness and reassurance.
When she’d settled, he swished some of her tears away with his hankie before holding it up to her nose. “Blow for me, Em.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d called her by the same nickname her sister Klara used. Instead of making her homesick, it only made her feel closer to Charlie.
When she felt like she might trust her voice she asked. “Is it over?”
Expecting a resounding yes, his “almost,” wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She wiggled away, but he held her tight. For the first time she became aware of the hard rod she was sitting on. Testing her suspicion, she wiggled again and a low moan escaped from Charlie.
“That’s enough of that.” He stood, dropping her onto her feet but making sure he held up the skirt of her gown before it fell to the floor. “To the corner with you.”
He was shuffling her along with him as he moved towards the corner nearest the small dresser. She tripped on her drawers before he stopped to step on them. “Lift your foot. You won’t be needing these again for awhile.”
He had her on the move again as she pointed out the obvious. “This is rid
iculous. I’m not a child.”
They’d arrived at the corner as he leaned in close, pressing his body against her back intimately. “Believe me, Emelie. I am perfectly aware of that fact.” He pressed his erection against her red derrière. “Now, hold up your skirts. I want to see that naughty fanny of yours on display.”
“Oh, God.” He stepped back then, leaving her alone in the corner.
“Fifteen minutes of corner time to think on the rules and how you’ll do better next time.”
The next fifteen minutes dragged on endlessly. She knew he sat and watched her because when she tried to touch her scorched behind, he corrected her. “No rubbing.”
She started her timeout furious at being treated like a child. Within a few minutes, boredom mingled with the ache in her arms from holding her position to distract her, defusing her anger. By the time he called “time,” she’d let her thoughts wander back to the spanking itself. A warmth spread through her at recognizing she’d not only survived, but she now felt a new closeness to Charlie that hadn’t been there before.
Emelie jumped when he touched her gently. “Your punishment is over now, Emelie.” He placed his arm around her waist as if to comfort her and she turned and fell into his embrace.
She’d let the long skirt of her gown fall to the floor. Within seconds, she felt Charlie’s fingers working the buttons at the back of her gown, slowly undressing her. Her heart flew into her throat. Was he going to try to seduce her now? More importantly, would she stop him?
He pulled back to watch her face as he gently swished the gown off her shoulders, letting the dress and petticoats fall to a pool around her ankles. She stood before him only in her thin chemise. The warm room suddenly felt cool, pebbling her nipples. She saw a hunger in Charlie’s expression. She was stunned when he reached for her hand and led her back to the bed.
He’d pulled back the bedspread and sheet. “Crawl on in, Em. You’ve had quite a day already and we have a long night ahead of us. I’d like you to take a nap now.”
“A nap? I thought we were going to practice new songs today?”
“We’ll have time to do that later after your nap.”
“But…”
He brought a finger to her lips to shush her. When she was silent, he pulled the sheet up to cover her before leaning down and kissing her forehead. His gentle stroke against her hair combined with his fresh scent and her emotional exhaustion brought on by the excitement of the day had her fighting fatigue within minutes.
She’d just close her eyes for a few minutes.
Chapter Eight
“Pass the potato salad, please. Hello? Charlie?” Diamond brushed his arm to snag his attention, only then realizing everyone at the table was turned and watching him. He’d been lost in his own thoughts, replaying the scene in Emelie’s room from earlier, happier with the outcome each time he thought of it.
He picked up the heavy platter and passed it along as he’d been requested, almost dropping it when Emelie stepped into the doorway to the staff dining room. She was in her uniform that displayed her hourglass shape perfectly, her pink petticoats evident beneath the revealing dress. Despite having returned to his room to rub one out after he left her to her nap, he felt his balls tightening again, preparing his next load as if they knew it might be finally inside of her tight body instead of on his own hand.
The table full of gems became uncharacteristically quiet as Emelie neared the table. The atmosphere had been pretty strained earlier when Gabe had sent them all upstairs to rest. He held his breath, hoping his friends wouldn’t make Emelie feel worse than she already did for her earlier gaff.
She stopped near the table and remained standing as she cleared her throat. “Um… I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I never meant for Ruby or anyone else to be in trouble with Gabe. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
She looked at him then, vulnerably seeking his approval. He nodded with a grin. He scooted to his left on the long bench, making room for her. He only had to crook his finger and she smiled, going around the table to settle in next to him.
The room was still quiet so every gem had to hear Emelie’s groan as her sore bottom connected with the hard wood. The sound was like the starting pistol for a dual. Everyone burst out into giggles simultaneously, recognizing the signs of a properly punished tush.
Emelie’s face turned the most adorable shade of pink that he was pretty sure matched the rosy red he’d christened her backside earlier. Her shy smile as she looked at him went straight to his cock. He was as hard as nails for her. He had no idea how he would make it through the long night ahead, especially knowing he’d be spending the entire evening entertaining with her. It wasn’t the music they’d make in the saloon that he was looking most forward to. If he had his way, they’d be making sweet music between the sheets together later that night.
They enjoyed a good-natured, fun meal that went a long way to restoring the normal harmony to the Red Petticoat. The gems were in rare form, entertaining each other by regaling story after story of their most recent customer encounters. Instead of watching the gems, Charlie kept his gaze on Emelie, enjoying her blushing at the scandalous stories suspecting that meant she had a lot to learn in the bedroom. He couldn’t wait to be the man to teach her every naughty deed.
He snuck his hand under the table, linking their fingers in her lap while Gabe and Jewel arrived, looking like they’d just awoken from their own nap.
“I see life is back to normal around here,” Gabe teased. “I hope you left us some dinner. “
Opal, having been one of the original gems, was usually the bravest when it came to dishing out to the boss. “Yeah, well if you’d show up on time, maybe you wouldn’t need to worry about that. Did you two have a nice nap?”
The rosy hue to Jewel’s regal cheeks confirmed everyone’s suspicion of exactly what kind of napping activities the couple had been engaged in.
Gabe boasted as he pulled Jewel closer. “As a matter of fact, we did. We managed to fit in two naps.”
“Gabriel!”
“What?” He tried to look innocent. “You are the madam of this fine establishment, are you not? You can’t let these sassy chicas think they have anything going on that you didn’t invent long ago.” Jewel tried to slap his roving hands away, but gave in letting her man pull her close for a passionate kiss. The catcalls and whistles were so loud they had Nettie running in from the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.
“Enough of that, now. That kinda thing belongs behind closed doors,” Nettie prodded to which Gabe only grinned causing the cook to roll her eyes and mutter something about a wooden spoon as she returned to the kitchen.
Charlie hated to miss any fun, but he was anxious to be alone with Emelie. Well, as alone as they could be at the piano. He leaned close. “We should rehearse. The crowd is going to start lining up any time now.”
Her quiet, “Yes, sir” was an arrow straight through his heart.
“Em, you don’t have to call me that unless you’re being punished.”
She looked flustered. “Sorry. It kinda slipped out.”
God he wanted to lean in and kiss her. What the hell was wrong with him? Sensing they were the center of attention, he resisted, pushing to a stand and announcing, “Time to get to work. Have an excellent night, ladies.”
He held his hand out to Emelie, and they left their friends behind.
The saloon was already packed as they walked towards the piano and stage. Ruby and Amy had been missing all the fun at dinner while serving drinks and food to the early dinner crowd. Seeing Ruby give her backside a quick rub, he grinned. It was obvious that Jeb had attended to his own miscreant. What turned his grin into a huge smile was when she caught his eye and her own lips turned up into a smile before turning her gaze to Emelie, giving the woman a small wave. It was the perfect thing to have done as it worked to assure Silver that all was truly forgiven and no bad feelings about the afternoon remained. Giving
Emelie’s hand a squeeze, he continued walking to the piano. There was an excitement in the air as every man present was on pins and needles, waiting for their turn upstairs with the gem of their choice.
Emelie sat on the piano bench with him for the next hour as they pored through the sheet music. He played only the melody of each song, allowing her to practice quietly.
“I’m never going to be able to remember all these new songs.”
“You don’t have to. Let’s go.”
He led her up the few steps to the stage. They went to the far back, going down steps to the small property closet that held costumes and props they’d used for some of their shows over the time they were open. He had to move the box that held Jade’s costumes from her dancing days. She still enjoyed coming to dance whenever she and Cullen came into town.
“Here it is.” He’d found the music stand. “You can put the music here and keep it out on the stage with you.”
He saw her excitement as she turned her lovely eyes on him.
He was helpless to stop from pulling her into his arms. Their lips crashed together like waves on the ocean. She felt perfect in his arms and when her tongue pressed against the seam of his lips, he sucked her in, sure there had never been another kiss as perfect.
Hands roamed. Lips swelled. Bodies ground against each other until he wanted only to carry her to her room and make love to her then and there.
The chanting of the crowd of impatient customers yelling, “Silver. Silver. Silver,” broke the mood.
The kiss ended, yet it took a minute to catch their breath.
“Are you ready? Seems you have some fans out there waiting.”
Her grin lit up her face. “I’m ready.”
They started the set at six that evening to a roaring crowd. Charlie had to fight down the urge to rush to the crowd and pound more than one customer that first hour. By most standards, the lewd gestures and suggestive comments were nothing out of the ordinary for the brothel on a busy Saturday night. The only thing that had changed was they were now directed at his woman. That was going to take some getting used to.