Milestones

by Hensley, Alta

  Damn straight, lady.

  Cadence had never been so disobedient or dishonest. On occasion she’d earned a spanking because she got a little mouthy, a little disrespectful. But rarely had she done anything that required serious discipline. He raked his hand through his hair. So much had changed during his deployment.

  “I don’t understand why you would have disregarded my wishes.”

  She bit her lower lip. “I wanted to work as a PI. When you said I couldn’t well, I guess I got mad.”

  “Kind of like, ‘I’ll show him!’ Is that it?”

  Looking miserable, she nodded.

  “I’m not totally surprised,” Rahm admitted. “I suspected you were up to something. I had planned to come home at lunchtime, but then I got a call as I left the office. I have reviewed the cases you worked, and Aaron has sung your praises as an investigator. But it’s not safe for you to go out alone. You said Stephen had gotten violent with Diane. What if he’d caught you prowling around?”

  Cadence flushed. “He did, uh catch me. And he confiscated the camera disk.”

  “Damnit, Cadence!” Rahm stared at her.

  “I know. I know. You were right. About everything.”

  “I know how much you enjoyed the job. But lying is not the answer. Have I ever made you feel like you couldn’t discuss something with me?”

  “Well, you get mad sometimes.”

  “Of course I get mad. I love you. I worry.”

  “I love you, too. And I’m very sorry.” Cadence shifted on the sofa. “You’re going to spank me now, right?”

  “Yes.” Rahm stood up. “Get undressed. When I come back, I want to find you bent over the sofa arm.”

  He read the questions in her eyes, but she swallowed and nodded. He strode out of the room.

  Back in the kitchen, Rahm sliced off one of the fingers from the ginger. He peeled off the tough skin with a paring knife, rounded one end, and then carved a notch near the top so that it resembled a crude butt plug. He rinsed it off and marched back to his den.

  The side of the sofa faced the door so the first thing he spied was his wife’s naked backside. She’d draped herself over the arm as ordered. Cadence was a petite woman, and her legs weren’t long, but they were shapely and she had a high, tight, round ass, which still bore a slight blush from the last maintenance spanking. Staring at her now, a large measure of his irritation dissipated. Despite her recent disobedience and dishonesty, Cadence was a good woman. Not perfect, but the perfect wife for him.

  Rahm approached the couch, and she twisted to peer over her shoulder. Her eyes rounded when she spied the object in his hand. “Have you ever heard of ginger-figging?” he asked.

  Chapter Seven

  Oh my God. Even before Rahm’s question, Cadence recognized the object. She’d heard about ginger-figging, but never had she expected to be naked and butt up on the receiving end. She clenched her bottom. No, not supposed to do that. That will make it worse.

  You had to try the ginger chicken recipe tonight, didn’t you?

  “Yes,” she said. She considered begging for a reprieve, but from the implacable set of Rahm’s shoulders, she surmised she had no chance of dissuading him. She hoped ginger-figging wasn’t as bad as she’d read about.

  “You’re not going to protest, argue?”

  “No,” she replied meekly. She deserved to be disciplined, and though she dreaded the spanking and that evil-looking ginger, she longed for the expiation of her disobedience.

  “Spread your cheeks.”

  Cadence rested her forehead on the sofa cushion and reached back to grab her cheeks. Rahm’s slacks brushed against her bare legs. Her skin tingled, electrified. The ginger felt wet and cold when he pressed it against her rosette. Experience advised her to relax, but instinct had her stiffening, tightening. She dug her fingers into her buttocks.

  He eased the root finger into her channel. She felt pressure, coldness, at first, and some pain because she was so tense, but then he seated it and told her she could release her cheeks.

  Not so bad. Just a hint of warmth.

  “We’ll give it a moment.” He slapped her ass. She clenched and widened her eyes at the burn. “I’ll wash my hands and be right back.”

  Heat built. With surprising speed, the ginger cranked the temperature to hot. When she experimentally squeezed her muscles, it skyrocketed to searing.

  Focused on the inferno in her butt, she didn’t realize Rahm had returned until he spoke. “Judging from the way you’re squirming, I’d say you’re ready for your spanking. Come here.”

  Cadence pushed herself off the sofa and gasped as the heat spiked. Every step burned as she eased to where Rahm sat on the ladder-back chair, the wooden paddle beside his feet.

  She settled over his lap, trying not to wiggle.

  He caressed the globes of her ass, soothed with his touch, until he squeezed hard and pushed them together. Heat blazed in her channel.

  Without further preamble, he laid a hard one center cheek. She clenched. Yelped and unclenched. As he spanked, she steeled herself to not contract her butt muscles, but it happened anyway. She swore she’d remain stoic, but tears sprang to her eyes.

  After a searing round, he grabbed the paddle. Her inflamed skin throbbed, and the hard swat he placed with the implement nearly sent her through the roof. Instinctively, Cadence contracted her muscles. Unladylike words spewed from her mouth as flames shot out her ass.

  Rahm paddled her to tears, then tossed aside the implement and carried her to the sofa and settled her in his arms, on his lap. Her buttocks throbbed with pain, but she was more conscious of the ginger still burning inside, though it had lessened now that he’d stopped spanking.

  She wept against his neck as he caressed her back and murmured soothing words. “It’s all right now, Cadence. Sweetheart. It’s okay. What’s done is done. We won’t speak of it again.”

  “T-thank you,” she stuttered through her tears. She loved this part. Being held and cossetted. Coming clean. Not having to hash over old issues like so many of her friends did. After a spanking, all was forgiven and forgotten. When in life did one ever get do-overs?

  But Christ-almighty-on-a-broomstick her ass hurt – inside and out. But she could handle it. She clung to Rahm, surrendering to his embrace and his will.

  He caressed her. “Your skin is like strawberries,” he ran his hand over her ass. “And cream.” He trailed his fingers down her thighs.

  “And hot peppers,” she said without rancor.

  “And hot peppers,” Rahm said with a chuckle. “I don’t have to spank you as long or as hard if I use the ginger.”

  “I didn’t notice.”

  He chuckled.

  After a bit he said, “Let’s remove the ginger now,” and Cadence noted with surprise that the burning had faded like a pounding headache one doesn’t notice has dissipated.

  She expected him to extract it right then, but he carried her down the hall into their bathroom. Heat spiked as he pulled it out. After washing his hands, he led her into the bedroom. He stripped. His hard cock looked ready to burst.

  Without being told, Cadence sank to her knees and took him in her mouth. Thankfulness and lust ballooned, leaving her dizzy and light. She lavished his cock with all the emotion that burgeoned inside her. Rahm wrapped his hands in her hair, the twinge of pain adding to her delight, making her wet, making her tremble with need.

  He yanked her away from his cock and bade her to sit on the bed’s edge, then pushed her onto her back, folded her knees to her chest. “Hold them there,” he ordered.

  Rahm sank to his knees then and proceeded to ream out her pussy with his tongue and lash at her clit. Then, he leaped to his feet and drove inside her, thrusting hard. Together they soared higher and higher, until they crashed, exhausted in each other’s arms.

  Cadence still had her legs wrapped around Rahm’s waist. His hot breath steamed her neck. His chest heaved. She hugged his back and squeezed.

  “It
’s good to be home,” he said.

  Epilogue

  Cadence slumped in the front seat of the sedan so that only her head popped above the window and trained her camera on the sleazebag playing footsies with his girlfriend outside the small café. The girl kicked off a sandal and caressed his crotch with her naked foot.

  Click. Click. Click. She snapped several photos.

  “How did you know he would be here?” Rahm, a ball cap tugged low over his forehead, slouched in the passenger seat. “And with her?”

  “She’s the barista where he gets his morning latte—and blow job,” Cadence said. She glanced at her husband. “I had a hunch. Chronic cheaters get cagier, but first-timers tend to fish off the home pier. She’s his wife’s cousin.”

  Click, click. She squeezed off a couple more shots. “I think that’s enough.” She looked at Rahm. “Are you ready?”

  “For a nooner? What do you think?” Rahm glanced at the erection tenting his pants, and then settled his gaze on the display of cleavage left by her low cut top. She used to dress that way because it distracted the men she interviewed—it was amazing how much a man would reveal to a woman who showed a bit of tit. Now she did it to tease Rahm because his retribution was so delicious.

  “One of the drawbacks of making you my partner is that you keep me in a perpetual state of arousal. It’s quite embarrassing when I have to speak to someone, and I have a raging boner.”

  Cadence giggled and then moaned when the ben wa balls in her pussy moved. Rahm gave as good as he got. Rarely did they leave for work together when she wasn’t wearing some kind of toy—or had to sit through a stakeout on a freshly spanked ass.

  Spankouts, they jokingly called them now.

  No one had been as surprised as she when Rahm had approached her with the offer of her working as his partner “I know you love the job,” he had explained. “But I need you to be safe. This seems like a good compro—”

  Before Rahm had finished she’d launched herself into his arms, kissed him and then fucked him silly.

  Like she planned to do this afternoon. Cadence handed him the camera and started the engine. “Let’s go home Mr. Simmons.”

  THE BARN

  By Alta Hensley

  Chapter One

  As Paige Holland entered the ramshackle barn, she inhaled the distant smell of horse. She glanced at all the empty stalls, as sentiment filled her throat. All her good childhood memories happened at this place. As a young girl, she used to make believe the barn was her home. It became her utopia, her sanctuary, her escape. Paige stopped in the middle of her makeshift shelter and slowly spun in a circle, taking it all in. The barn had shielded her. It had protected her. Paige smiled at the flood of emotions the memories brought. The barn was also the backdrop to her first crush, her first kiss, her first love. Blinking back tears, she ambled over to one of the old stalls and traced her hand along the rotting wood. Years of neglect had taken its toll, but it was still the same barn she adored.

  “So, I guess the rumors are true.”

  Startled, she turned to find a man with broad shoulders standing beneath the archway. His dominant stance appeared to fill the entire space. The sunlight shone from behind, casting his body in silhouette. Yet, it didn’t prevent Paige from identifying the shadowed man. Twelve years had gone by, but Paige still recognized the raspy, low voice. Even now, she remembered how one shoulder always slouched slightly lower than the other as his thumbs rested on the pockets of his jeans. Of course he would come. She knew he would. Paige struggled for breath There she was, in the same room with him, after so many years. The same man who had shattered her heart in a million pieces. The same man she never wanted to see again, yet also the same man she so desperately missed. Connor McNeil… her first true love.

  Her heart beat wildly in her chest, but she willed herself to keep cool. “Depends on what those rumors are.”

  He took a step into the barn, the old hay breaking beneath his worn cowboy boot, stopping before Paige could see the color of his eyes – a dark blue she could get lost in. The shadows still concealed the fine details of his face, but she could already tell the man still possessed the power. The power to make her weak kneed with just one look.

  “People in town said you moved back. They said you bought this old barn.” He scowled, as he took another step closer. “The place should be condemned. It's not safe for you to be in here.”

  Paige took a few steps toward a solid post, maintaining the distance between them. “It still has strong bones.” She knocked on the wood to emphasize her point.

  “What do you plan on doing with it?”

  “Converting it into a home… for real this time.”

  “You're kidding, right?” Connor took another step closer.

  Paige countered his step by moving toward the ladder leading up to the hay loft. “I've been reading up on people who've converted old barns into houses. I love the idea, and I love the challenge of it.”

  Connor shook his head and sighed. “You're still the same girl with her head in the clouds that you were ten years ago.”

  “Twelve.”

  “What?”

  Paige ran her hand along the wooden rungs of the ladder, desperate to avoid eye contact. “It's been twelve years since I left.”

  Silence sat between them. The only noise was the wind as it forced its way through the weathered wood. The creaks from above caused Connor to inspect the ceiling. “This isn't safe, Paige. You're going to get yourself killed. The barn's old, and barely standing.”

  She raised her chin and nodded, meeting his eyes for the first time. “Well, I guess it's time I change that.”

  Paige positioned herself under the loft, suddenly feeling small in such a massive space, and studied the area, her eyes burned with unwanted tears as she noticed the carved names in the side of the wall. The result of puppy love. A carved heart and two names. Paige & Connor Forever. She swallowed back the pain, not wanting Connor to see that, even today, the past love still had an effect on her. “For example. The area right under the loft could be a perfect place for a kitchen. Obviously, I have to plumb it out and reinforce the structure, but it can be done.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don't want a cookie-cutter house. And I think it would be fun.”

  “Why did you return?”

  How could she tell him she had run from the pain, only to find out she couldn’t hide from it? How could she tell him she did everything she could to build a life for herself, but something was always missing? How could she tell him she knew she was still in love with him, and had never stopped?

  She shrugged, avoiding his stare. “I was ready for a change. I got a good deal and decided to go for it.” She spun around in a circle. “I've always loved this place, it would be a shame to see it demolished.”

  The hay broke and the wood cracked some more as Connor walked toward her. This time he made it all the way to where she stood. She casually looked around, attempting to not seem bothered by the close proximity. Paige didn't want Connor to look into her eyes. He could always read them. With one glimpse, Connor had the ability to know her entire story, her entire truth, and all her secrets. She would be damned before she would let Connor McNeil know the power he still had on her heart.

  The searing heat of his touch on her shoulder almost made her dizzy. Memories washed over her, almost drowning her with the desire to be held by him once again. She missed his warm embrace and the way he could make her feel protected.

  “Did you see this?” Connor pointed at the carving in the wood. “Wow, that sure does bring back memories.”

  Paige simply nodded. “Yeah, if I remember correctly, we carved our names in a few other places in this barn.”

  Connor smiled. “We did a lot of things in this barn.”

  Self conscious of her blushing face, Paige gestured toward the exit. “I should probably get going. I have a meeting with a contractor. I want to get started right away.”

  Connor
stared into her eyes for a moment, before Paige darted them to the ground. “So, you're actually back? You plan on moving back permanently?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I've missed this little town.”

  A warm smile washed over Connor's face. “I'm glad to hear it.”

  With her cheeks on fire, Paige made her way to the exit, taking long graceful strides. “It was nice seeing you again, Connor. Maybe I'll see you around.”

  Connor stood in place, not following as she had hoped he'd do. “You seem so distant. You don't seem like yourself. You're acting as if we're strangers.”

  She continued on with soft and slow steps. “It's been a long time. People change.”

  “It hasn't been so long I don't remember. Remember us. Do you?”

  Paige stopped in her tracks. She closed her eyes, trying to block the pain, the hurt, the dreams broken. “Trust me,” she answered. “I remember.”

  “Do you ever think of me? Wonder what could've been?”

  Still unable to meet his gaze, she stared at the exit. Only a couple of feet left, and she could make an escape. Paige seriously considered running out. It was just like Connor to be direct and get straight to the point. And it was just like Paige to avoid it. “I really need to get going. I don't want to be late.”

  Before she realized it, Connor stood inches from her, grabbing the top of her arm, spinning her around to face him directly. His hand gripped her upper arm firmly, giving her no choice but to gaze up into the depth of the blue eyes.

  “Answer me. Do you ever think of me?”

  So softly Paige wasn't sure if he could hear, she replied. “Yes.” Drumming up the courage she needed, Paige jerked free of his grip. “What do you want me to say, Connor? What is it you're trying to get out of me?”

  “I thought you'd be happier to see me. It's been a long time.”

  Paige huffed. “Did you expect for me to leap into your arms and declare how much I missed you? Or did you want me to lie and say we should get together, even though I have no intentions of doing so?” Paige glared directly in his eyes. “We are strangers, Connor. Whether you like it or not.”