Saving His Runaway Bride (Dark Embrace Book 2)

by Sue Lyndon

  Chapter Five

  LUKE

  I cup her bare bottom and she trembles over my lap. I hadn’t intended to examine her cunny so thoroughly, but one thrust into her tightness with my fingers hadn’t been enough. I could be content to explore her all fucking night.

  The pungent scent of her sweetness hangs in the air now, a teasing reminder that I must wait one more day to claim her. I briefly consider taking her as my wife-in-truth after her spanking, despite having scolded her when I thought she was propositioning me earlier, but I soon shake the thought away.

  The idea of claiming her immediately after speaking our marriage vows pleases me too greatly, and besides that, it’s the honorable thing to do. Though Nora might not believe it yet, I am an honorable man. I take care of what’s mine, and that includes her.

  NORA

  The first slap cracks across my right bottom cheek, a searing sting that brings fresh tears to my eyes. Luke holds me securely over his lap, still restraining my wrists, and lands sharp slaps upon my bare backside. I gasp with each blow, my feet scissoring back and forth in the air.

  I lose count of how many times he spanks me. The pain consumes me. He also scolds as he punishes, calling me “bad girl” or saying things like, “This is what happens to disobedient little girls.”

  “I’m so sorry! Please, no more!” Even if I try to struggle, I won’t succeed in escaping or dodging a single smack. Luke’s strength and determination far surpasses mine. I beg him to end my punishment, unable to stop the pleas falling from my lips, but I don’t fight him physically, still holding fast to my promise to submit.

  When I don’t believe it’s possible to endure another spank, he pauses and resumes caressing my bottom. My heart grieves for all the worry I’ve caused my family, as well as the shame I’ve brought to the jilted groom who has me over his knee. His gentle touch now makes me cry harder. I sob, and, when I remember the belt lying on the bed, my sobs deepen until I hiccup and struggle for breaths.

  “Hush now, little girl. You did a naughty thing, and you’re paying the price for it, but your punishment is almost over.” He shifts as he reaches for the belt.

  Oh God. My heart pounds. The covers stick to my wet face as I continue crying, unable to rein in my emotions. I think of the horrors Luke spoke of on the mountain, about how as a slave I would’ve been beaten bloody, raped, bred, and worked to death, and I lose myself in regret as the tears fall and fall.

  “I’m only giving you five strikes with the belt, Nora. Just five. You can take it, I promise, and then this will all be over.” His kind tone warms me all over and contrasts with how he stern sounded moments ago as he scolded me.

  The belt packs a terrible sting. Each blow makes me scream and causes me to thrash about for the first time since he took me across his lap. But it ends quickly, just as he promised, and he immediately turns me over and cradles me in his arms.

  I feel so safe, so loved as he holds me, even though I know he can’t possibly love me. I’ve done a naughty thing, and he doesn’t even know me yet. I wonder if I’ll ever know love in our marriage, or if I’ll drive myself to misery vying for his attention and his affection every day.

  He strokes my hair from my face and gives me an encouraging smile.

  “Nora, little one, you have five minutes of corner time. Do you think you can be a good girl and stand in place in the corner over there for the allotted time?” He wipes at my tears with another fragrant cloth and my heart latches onto him, despite my worries that he might never harbor similar affection for me. I don’t want to fall for him so hard. Not yet. It’s too soon, and I feel too vulnerable. But God, I can’t help it. I love how he’s taken me in hand and punished me fairly. Yes, he brought me to tears and my bottom still throbs, but he hasn’t been cruel. Now he’s comforting me, trying to make sure I’m collected enough for my corner time.

  “Yes, sir,” I say after one last sniffle. “I’m able to stand in the corner now.”

  He guides me into an empty corner and arranges me to his liking with my hands clasped atop my head, my legs spread wide, and my stinging bottom thrust out in an awkward manner that leaves me flushing. Thoroughly chastised, with my likely bright-red behind on display, I stand in place and wait for him to speak, wondering if he plans to scold me further.

  “While you’re standing there, I want you to think about how you’re going to be a good girl in the future, Nora. Think about how wrong it was of you to run away, to worry your family. Think about the god-awful things that would’ve happened to you had you been sold by the slavers at auction.” He moves one hand between my legs, traveling up between my bottom cheeks, where he presses a finger against my forbidden entrance. “Think about how sometimes, when you misbehave, you will have to endure a cock in this naughty, tight hole.”

  The threat of such an intimate punishment leaves my nipples tightening and my pussy aching. I should be terrified of what he’s described, but I wonder what it would feel like to bend over and accept his manhood into my backside hole. A heated pulse steals through me and I shudder as the desperate neediness throbbing between my thighs quickens.

  Luke notices the moisture escaping my pussy again. He trails a finger through it and makes a noise of disapproval in his throat. “Nora, I believe I’m going to have to put you in a chastity device this evening, to help you control your urges.”

  I’ve heard of men who are perverts and desire rough sex or odd sex acts. I start to worry I am some kind of pervert myself because the idea of being forced into a device that will prevent me from touching myself makes me quake with desire. In fact, I moan loudly. I stand there in the corner while my husband-to-be inspects the wetness between my pussy lips, and I moan like a hussy, like one of the wanton brothel women I’ve glimpsed leaning out of the windows of Madam Angelic’s infamous establishment on the west side of Gerrardsville.

  “Five minutes,” Luke snaps, moving his hand away.

  He walks away, his footsteps loud and echoing in the silence of the cavernous room.

  A wave of submission rolls over me. I know Luke is watching me, staring at my reddened bottom and the arousal glistening on my thighs. I want to please him, so I obey his commands.

  I contemplate my misdeeds with deep shame and then consider his threat to claim my bottom hole as a form of punishment. Closing my eyes, I try to envision how it could happen. I might mouth off, or perhaps I might be late for dinner one evening, and my ever so serious husband would be cross. After a long, painful spanking, he would bend me over the bed and pull my reddened cheeks wide apart, exposing my puckered entrance.

  “Naughty wives take their husband’s cock in their tight backside holes,” he would say, before shoving his manhood into my snug passage.

  “Oh, please, husband, it hurts,” I would say.

  “As it should. You were a naughty little girl, and I’m going to pound my cock into your bottom hole to teach you a lesson,” he would say.

  Holy God in Heaven, where have these thoughts come from? Perspiration trickles down my temple, and I suck in deep breath after deep breath. My clit throbs, and it takes all my self-control not to reach down and rub myself to bliss. I burn and ache. I need an orgasm, but I won’t get one because Luke plans to put a chastity device on me.

  “Your time is up, Nora. Be a good girl and come here.” His warm voice pulls me from my naughty musings, and I turn around to regard him nervously and walk in his direction. The stickiness of my arousal rubs between my thighs with each step.

  He meets me halfway across the room and sweeps me up in his arms. He carries me to a large, plush chair near the crackling fire, and sits down with me cradled in his embrace.

  “All is forgiven, little girl.”

  I meet his kind gaze and melt inside, turning to mush at his words. “Thank you, sir.” Tears mist my eyes, but I blink them back and instead offer Luke a smile.

  He brushes my hair behind my ears and leans down to kiss my forehead. I melt again and again, with each touch, a
s he strokes my hair or my cheek.

  “After a punishment comes forgiveness, Nora. I will never withhold forgiveness or affection from you, my sweet.”

  My hopes lift at his pronouncement. “You wish for an affectionate marriage, sir?” I don’t dare say a loving marriage for fear he will balk or laugh at my dreamy girlishness. Most marriages are arranged, with love being an afterthought.

  “Of course I wish for an affectionate marriage, Nora. I know I may seem strict to you, perhaps a bit overbearing, but it is my hope that we will get along and enjoy one another’s company. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

  I nod and sink back into his arms, willing this moment to last forever. He holds me until my stomach rumbles loudly. Carrying me to the bed, he tucks me in and chuckles when I wince as my sore bottom brushes the sheets.

  He brings me the tray of food and commences feeding me small bits of cheese, fruit, and crackers, rubbing my lips with his thumb in a deliciously seductive manner before reaching for another piece of food.

  No one has ever cared for me this way, feeding me by hand. He seems to derive immense pleasure in taking care of me. His eyes shine with a tender emotion akin to reverence, and I get the sneaking suspicion there’s more to our union than my stepfather has let on. I haven’t met Luke before. It would be impossible to meet a man so intense and forget him. But he knew me, somehow, and he wanted me.

  Once I eat my fill, I brush my teeth and prepare for bed under Luke’s watchful stare. He doesn’t allow me to shut the bathroom door, wanting to ensure I don’t reach between my legs to seek my pleasure. He tosses my nightdress at me as I head back to bed, and I eagerly don the garment.

  “Lie down atop the covers and lift your nightdress up, Nora. We’ve got to get the chastity device on you.”

  Flushing, I do as he asks and watch wide-eyed as he retrieves an odd-looking contraption from a dresser drawer. It resembles a belt, but has a middle that curves down with a broad surface that I realize will close over my cunny lips. With deft movements, he slides my legs into the device and pulls it up until the belt-like part hugs my hips.

  He adjusts a notch on it, bringing it flush against my skin, then locks it. Next, he fits the bottom portion of it over my privates, again adjusting the notches until it rests snug upon my flesh, not too tight but tight enough that I won’t be able to slip a finger inside, let alone remove the contraption. This part of the chastity device locks as well, and he sticks the key into his pocket and rises after getting me outfitted.

  “Under the covers you go, my blushing bride.” He tucks me in and presses a lingering kiss to my forehead.

  I don’t know where he plans to sleep, but he departs the room and doesn’t return. I miss his presence, his stern looks interspersed with tender glances and touches. But fatigue pulls me under soon, and I fall fast asleep with my bottom stinging and the chastity device locked in place.

  Chapter Six

  LUKE

  Today is the day. I awake before dawn to get ready, and I’m pleased when the priest arrives early. I’m tempted to rouse Nora now, because I’m anxious to make her my wife, but I decide to allow her to sleep a bit longer, reminding myself that she’s still recovering from her ordeal with the slavers and likely needs her rest.

  Finally, once the sun has risen, I tell the priest I will return shortly with my bride, and I make my way back upstairs. Anticipation hums through me, and I wonder if Nora has awoken yet.

  The thought of her patiently awaiting my arrival so I can remove the chastity device makes my shaft go rock hard.

  NORA

  I awake to the sun spilling across the bed, warming my legs through the covers. Stretching, I luxuriate in the comfort of my little cocoon. My fingers brush across the cool metal of the chastity device. A soft sigh escapes me and I turn on my side, thinking perhaps I might steal a few more minutes of sleep before the maid bustles in to help me prepare for the wedding.

  “Oh!” I bolt up at the unexpected sight of Luke, standing beside the bed with his arms crossed, looking introspective as if he’s been watching me for hours. He’s wearing another one of his tailored black suits. The scent of his aftershave tickles my nose. He’s already gotten cleaned up and dressed, while I’ve yet to crawl out of bed.

  “Didn’t mean to scare you, little girl, but I suspect you’ll be wanting the chastity device removed? You drank a lot of water before bed last night.”

  Heat floods my face and I nod. Now that he mentions it, I really need to use the bathroom. “Please.” When I shift on the bed, my bottom feels tender and all the memories of my examination and punishment coming rushing back. I lower my gaze, suddenly shy even though he’s already seen all of me last night. He’s witnessed me at my weakest, too, sobbing and remorseful for my actions. In the brightness of the morning, the memories feel strange.

  He withdraws a tiny key from his pocket and throws the covers back. The silk fabric of my nightdress flounces in the air as he flips it up, baring me from the waist down. After two clinks the chastity device loosens around me. Next, he widens the notches and drags it down my legs.

  A knock at the door announces the maid, and Luke calls her in as I scramble to arrange the nightdress around my legs. If she notices Luke holding a chastity device in his hands, she gives no indication. Another maid hurries in with a tray of food.

  “Make sure you eat before you come downstairs.” Luke leans over me with a mischievous glint in his gaze. “You’ll need your strength today.” He departs the room after giving my hand an affectionate squeeze, leaving me to the attention of the maids.

  I obediently eat my breakfast and allow the maids to fuss over me. I suppose it isn’t every day they get to prepare someone for a wedding. They delight in bathing me in rose-scented water and dressing me in the wedding gown my mother had sewn. It touches me that Luke secured the gown, along with several of my other belongings, mostly books and mementos, from my family at some point as he searched for me in the days prior.

  The delicate white shawl I completed the night I ran away rests atop the trunk, and I draw it over my shoulders with a sense of closure.

  This is my life now. There’s no returning to Gerrardsville. No more running away. I will walk downstairs to the parlor and repeat my vows to Luke. I will honor those vows and try to be a good wife to him because what other option do I have?

  I try to ignore the resurgence of heat pulsing through my loins, as well as the tightening of my nipples and sudden achiness of my breasts inside the confines of my bodice. Is it natural to crave a man’s roughness the way I long for Luke? Even though the spanking hurt, and even though the other things he did were humiliating, I want more. More spanking. More scolding. More threats of punishment. God, even more corner time.

  I’d dreamed of Luke all night. I’d dreamed of him taking me over his knee, smacking my bottom, and then shoving into my tight hole. Not my cunny, but the naughty forbidden entrance between my bottom cheeks. I inhale deeply and fan myself while the maids flit about me, styling my hair in an elegant updo and applying a hint of rouge.

  If Luke discovers how dark my thoughts are, will he still wish to keep me as his wife? I’d best keep my desires hidden from him, lest he think me too wanton and improper. After all, he wanted to ensure my virginity last night. Yes, he said he’d take me anyway, but I know he wanted to find me tight and unclaimed. The pleasure flaring in his eyes to find me in a virginal state had been more than evident.

  The wedding ceremony passes quickly. No Bible verses are read, and no one gives a speech. The minister simply instructs us to repeat our vows. It takes all of five minutes and then I find myself being unceremoniously carried back upstairs. The servants have made themselves scarce, though, and we don’t pass a soul in the hallways. In fact, the mansion has gone so silent, I wonder if Luke ordered everyone out for the remainder of the day.

  “You look lovely in that gown, Nora, but you won’t be wearing it for much longer.” His lips brush my ear, and I s
hiver, anticipation quickening in my core.

  He strides into the master bedroom, cradling me in his arms as if I weigh nothing, and kicks the door shut behind us. I rest my cheek against the abrasive fabric of his dress jacket, inhaling the masculine scent of him. Aftershave and mints with a hint of whiskey. With each breath, a zing of heat pulsates between my thighs.

  He places me on the bed and sheds his jacket, his gaze hot on mine. I stare curiously at the dark hairs on his chest that are revealed after he unfastens the top three buttons of his shirt.

  Dark intent flames in the depths of his eyes. If I hadn’t already glimpsed his desire for me last night, I would probably fear the half-angry look he’s set upon me. I remain atop the covers, propped up on my elbows, waiting for him to bark out an order or perhaps pounce on me and start ripping my gown off.

  The bed dips as he crawls atop me, grabbing my wrists and thrusting my arms above my head. He claims my mouth in his, a rough kiss that says I own you now. It isn’t long before I begin lifting my hips to press against the growing hardness still encased in his pants.

  At some point, he releases my wrists, but I keep them in place as he clutches my face and deepens the kiss.

  “Are you going to be a good girl and take all of me inside you?” he asks as he draws back to peer down at me. When he strokes an errant strand of hair behind my ear, his fingertips leave a trail of heat on my cheek.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He chuckles. “Do you ever plan to call me by my given name?”

  The playful challenge in his voice prompts me to not only use his name for the first time, but to tease him as well. I bat my eyelashes and say, “Yes, Luke, I will be a good girl and take all of you inside me.”

  His nostrils flare and he emits a low growl before flipping me over to work open my bodice. As I turn, my shawl falls from my shoulders and drifts to the floor. Once he loosens my dress, he roughly tugs the garment off me. He rises from the bed and draws my stockings off, too, forcing my slippers off in the process and leaving me wearing nothing but the frilly bridal undergarments Ella had half-jokingly gifted me for this occasion.