by Leah Brooke
Jumping to her feet, Hope stamped her foot. “Damn it, Ace!”
Ace had had enough. Pausing in the process of scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate, he clenched his jaw. “Stamp your foot at me again, and I’ll put you across my knee.”
Her eyes flared with desire, the passions inside her too strong to contain. “That’s your answer? Sex?”
Confident in his ability to handle his wife’s passions—including her temper—Ace raised a brow. “Who said anything about sex? You’re acting like a brat and obviously need to be spanked.”
Hope gasped, her eyes going wide. “A brat?”
Ace reached for the coleslaw. “A brat. You’re demanding that I quit a job I’ve had most of my adult life—a job that I love. A job that I had when you married me.”
Hope sighed. “I worry.”
Ace inclined his head. “I know that, and I do everything I can to make things easier for you.”
“Sometimes it’s not enough.”
Knowing this was an issue that couldn’t be resolved, Ace dug into his dinner. “People die in car accidents every day. Do you want me to stop driving, too? You drive like a maniac just to get my attention—an unnecessary danger that scares me but that you do on a whim.”
Hope’s face flushed again. “I won’t do it again.”
Ace nodded once, pleased that he’d made his point. “Good.”
She dropped into her seat again with a sigh. “I don’t know if I can live this way anymore.”
Fear turned his stomach to ice, and setting his silverware aside, he kept his tone low and cold. “Is that an ultimatum?”
Losing her wasn’t an option, but he couldn’t allow his wife to deliver ultimatums and expect to get away with it.
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze squarely, her bottom lip trembling. “What if it is?”
“You know that I don’t respond well to ultimatums.”
With her chin still lifted, Hope wrapped her arms around herself, the combination of defiance and defensiveness a testament to the contrary woman herself. “What if I said that I would leave you if you don’t quit?”
Sitting back, he smiled coldly. “Then I would give you the spanking you so richly deserve and tell you that you’re not going anywhere. Are you sure this is the tack you wanna take?”
Chapter Two
Hope didn’t answer, knowing that she’d run herself into an unshakable force—her husband’s determination.
The look in Ace’s eyes told her that nothing she could say or do would change his mind on the subject.
With her stomach too tied up in knots to eat, Hope dropped into her seat and picked at her food, mostly just pushing it around her plate.
Ace, on the other hand, appeared as calm and in control as ever, plowing through his dinner as if nothing had happened.
His confidence and strength made him a wonderful husband and sheriff—a man everyone could always rely on.
It also made him an incredible Dominant and lover.
But, at times, it could also be incredibly frustrating.
“Eat, Hope.”
Looking up from her plate, she found herself caught in Ace’s steady gaze, love for him making it difficult to breathe. Setting her fork aside, she shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
Setting his own fork aside, he pushed his chair back and lifted a hand to her. “Come here.”
Recognizing the gleam in his eyes, Hope hurriedly gathered her dishes and rose, fighting the urge to throw herself into his arms. “No.”
She knew the consequences of her actions, but her own vulnerability provoked her into defying him.
Married to such a strong man meant she could never show weakness.
If he saw just how much she wanted to give him everything, he would realize that her defiance was a façade and know that he’d married the wrong woman.
Losing him would kill her.
Swallowing heavily, she scraped the food from her plate and set her dishes in the sink, her stomach clenching at the scrape of Ace’s chair.
“Excuse me?”
The ice in his tone sent a shiver down her spine, setting off little explosions of delight in every erogenous zone.
If he knew her weakness, he’d press his advantage and, with time, with no challenge, would lose interest.
She turned slowly, sucking in a breath at the promise of retribution in his eyes and couldn’t help but taunt him further. “You heard me. I want to talk.”
His dark brow went up again, the threat glittering in his eyes unmistakable. “And you can’t do that over here?”
Her pussy clenched, another rush of her juices escaping to dampen her panties even more. “No. You’ll distract me.”
She wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her. She wanted to feel him move her as he wished.
She wanted to feel his hard hand slap her bottom and create a warmth, an awareness that she found irresistible.
She wanted his undivided attention and the satisfaction of the pleasure of knowing that she’d also pleased her formidable husband.
She looked at him now, wondering if she’d ever be able to look at him without her heart lurching.
Ace was a big man—almost six and a half feet tall—and had a body packed with muscle. The combination of a killer body and the cool control made him one hell of a distraction, but his caring nature and solid strength made him irresistible.
His eyes narrowed, the arrogance in his look making her clit tingle. “And you think that gives you an excuse to disobey me?”
God, how can he make me feel like this with just his voice?
Her body reacted in an instant, every erogenous zone flaring to life.
Her body knew its Master well.
Lifting her chin, she swallowed heavily. “I don’t have to obey you.”
His eyes flared with heat. “I thought we’d settled that a long time ago, but it’s obviously a lesson that needs to be repeated.”
Getting to his feet, he went to the refrigerator and retrieved a plastic bag from the back of one of the crisper drawers, a bag that hadn’t been there the other day when she’d stored fresh vegetables there.
He shoved it into his pocket and turned to her and, with no warning, bent to lift her over his shoulder.
She hadn’t seen the contents of the bag but suspected she knew what it was. Her bottom clenched, another rush of juices soaking her already wet panties. “What are you doing?”
Confident that he wouldn’t drop her, she struggled in his hold, determined to put up a fight.
She would have been disappointed as hell if he let her win but knew him well enough to know that, unless she used her safe word, nothing would stop him.
He strode down the hall and into their bedroom, locking the door behind him. “You’re not that naïve. You disobeyed me, my darling wife, and seem to think you have the freedom to do so.”
His tone seemed harsher than usual, and she couldn’t help but feel as if she’d really pissed him off.
He didn’t stop, continuing across the bedroom to the adjoining playroom, a room he’d built onto the house shortly after they’d gotten married because his brothers had had a tendency of walking into the house unannounced.
Ace hadn’t wanted his brothers to hear her cries of passion, and he despised being interrupted.
Gripping the waistband of his jeans, Hope sucked in a breath at the slide of his hand over her bottom.
“Hope you’re not planning to sit down anytime soon.” Entering the combination, Ace unlocked the playroom door and carried her inside.
She tried to look around to see the interior, but the door closed behind them with a click, locking them inside.
As usual, he didn’t turn on the light, and from past experience, she knew he wouldn’t until he’d blindfolded her.
She expected him to set her on the floor and demand that she strip, but after hearing the slide of metal, and a few clicks, she found herself bent facedown, over a well-padded table.
She knew from experience that the ends could be lowered and suspected that he’d done that when she found herself bent over with nothing to hold on to.
With a cry, she reached into the darkness for something, only to have Ace take both of her hands in his and, with a speed that never ceased to surprise her, cuff them together and secure them onto something far enough away to keep her arms straight out in front of her.
She heard the slide of a well-oiled drawer open and close, and seconds later, hard, muscular thighs pressed against the back of hers.
Ace slid a blindfold over her eyes, his chest pressed against her back as he nipped her earlobe. “That attitude has gotten you into some trouble again, baby. Sounds like an attitude adjustment is in order.”
Gripping the hem of her shirt, he ripped it all the way up her back.
Because of his size, he kept a tight rein on his control, and she loved when she could get him to lose just a tiny bit of that control with her.
It happened rarely enough that it added another level to her excitement—a mental shift that still alarmed her.
After swallowing heavily, she firmed her voice, determined to let him know that he didn’t intimidate her. “Sheriff, you ripped my new shirt.”
To her surprise, he finished ripping it off of her. “Like you said, I’m a rich man. You buy all the shirts you want anyway, but you won’t be needing one for a while.”
He moved away briefly, and she heard a click, and she knew he’d turned on the lights and could now see her clearly.
Before she could ask when he meant, he gripped a fistful of her hair. “Don’t move.”
Hope gasped when he sliced her bra from her, the combination of the violent action and having her breasts exposed sending jagged need raging through her. “Ace!”
“Quiet. The only reason I’m not gagging you is because I want to hear those delightful sounds you make.”
She already trembled with need for him, her bottom clenching in anticipation of the spanking she knew she would be getting.
He stepped behind her again, unfastening her jeans and yanking both them and her panties down to her knees, running a hand over her ass.
“This ass is always just begging for a spanking, isn’t it?”
She wiggled her ass at him, lifting one foot and then the other when he stripped her jeans and panties off. “It’s been a long time.”
It struck her suddenly that he’d been so busy and stressed at work and his lovemaking had been tender and gentle, as if he’d needed her to soothe him.
What had she done?
He ran his hands down her legs and back up again, his caress firm. “Yes, it has. Too long, but I plan to make up for it.”
Trembling harder at the anticipation in his voice, she waited for him to spread her feet and attach the cuffs at her ankles.
When he didn’t, she concentrated on listening for what he planned to do next, sucking in a breath and involuntarily jerking when he pinched her nipples.
“Be still.”
He attached the rings that drove her crazy, tightening them just enough to feel like a light pinch, which kept her awareness heightened, and the weights on them tugged with every movement.
Cupping her chin, he chuckled softly. “Your favorites. Tonight, though, I’m going to tighten them just a little bit more.”
Nervous, she sucked in a breath, moaning at the sharp, jagged pleasure snaking through her when he tightened them just enough to make her squirm. Each movement swung the small weights attached, making her pussy clench and coating her inner thighs with her juices. “Ace. Hurry. Spank me. I want you to take me.”
Fisting a hand in her hair, he turned her head to the side and chuckled again. “I’ve been a little too indulgent with you, haven’t I? First, you tell me to quit my job. Then, you threaten to leave me. Now, you’re trying to top from the bottom. Yes, an attitude adjustment is definitely in order. Open.”
She opened her mouth automatically, a moan escaping when he slid the head of his cock inside.
Loving the feel of him, the scent of him, and the taste of him, she sucked him eagerly, her pussy drenched with the anticipation of being fucked long and hard.
“Suck.”
A shiver went through her at the ice in his tone.
He hadn’t been so demanding in a long time, and she’d missed it.
She used her lips and tongue on him, adopting some of the techniques she’d learned during her seminar.
She moved on him as much as her position allowed, each movement tugging at her nipples.
She used her lips and tongue, each low groan from him and slide of his hands through her hair driving her arousal higher. Rubbing her thighs together to relieve the ache only aroused her more.
She wanted to test his control and used her tongue on the sensitive underside of his cock.
“Do you really think all those tricks you learned are gonna work on me?”
Turning her head, she released him long enough to answer him. “I hope so.”
Running his hand through her hair, he slowly began to thrust shallowly into her mouth. “Impress me.”
Thrilling at the challenge, Hope used every trick she’d learned, and although it took considerably longer than it had for the submissive, he rewarded her several minutes later when the hand tightened in her hair and he groaned, spilling his release against her tongue.
Running his hand down her back, he chuckled as she licked him clean. “Proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
She licked her lips clean, sucking in a breath when he ran his fingertips down her spine again as he moved to stand behind her. “Of course.”
Hearing the rustle of the plastic bag, she stilled, suspecting she knew exactly what was in it.
Ginger root.
The two fingers of ginger would have been peeled but still intact.
One would be pushed inside her ass while the other remained outside to enable him to remove it.
She sucked in a breath when his hand came down on her ass in a light slap and, knowing what came next, instinctively pressed her thighs together. “Ace, you don’t need to use that. I’ll be good.”
He stepped behind her, pushing her feet apart with his. “Trying to top from the bottom again, brat?”
He lifted and parted her bottom cheeks, pressing the ginger root against her puckered opening. “A total lack of respect in your Dominant. What the hell makes you think I would ever allow that?”
Hope’s toes curled in an effort to keep her bottom relaxed as the ginger entered her, knowing that clenching on it would add to the erotic burn. “I’m sorry.”
Ace continued to push it into her, forcing her puckered opening to stretch to allow the thick, round part of it to enter her.
Shaking with the effort it cost not to clench on it, Hope whimpered when the heat began, sucking in a breath when Ace slid a hand around her to part her folds.
When she realized that he’d positioned a flat, smooth finger of the ginger root against her clit, she started to panic. “Ace?”
A sharp slap landed on her bottom, startling her so much that she clenched on the ginger in her ass, making the heat even more intense. Her wiggling rubbed the ginger against her clit, heating it, and made the clips attached to her nipples sway, tugging at them.
“I see you finally understand who’s in charge here. Let’s see if we can make sure the lesson sticks this time.”
Hope whimpered again, the heat and awareness so intense that she couldn’t remain still.
Her husband was in rare form, and she didn’t have a clue as to what he would do next.
She only knew that he’d barely gotten started, and she’d already been reduced to a mass of quivering need.
Her pussy clenched incessantly, along with her bottom, but she had a strong suspicion that she wouldn’t get satisfaction any time soon. “Please, Ace.”
“Please what, sub?”
When he called her that, she knew that he would be especially domin
eering, but in his present mood, she suspected he’d be even worse.
Or, from her point of view, better.
“I need to come.”
“Already? You must be joking. What the hell have you done to deserve to come?”
The sharp sting of the leather-tipped crop on her bottom made her clench involuntarily, intensifying the heat in her ass.
Kicking her legs, she pulled against the cuffs at her wrists. “I made you come.”
Her clit heated, making it swell even more, the sensation overwhelming.
Another sharp strike on her other cheek had her wiggling frantically, her cries becoming frantic.
“That’s your job, sub. You don’t get to come until you deserve it—and you have a hell of a lot to make up for.”
Hope struggled to remain still while Ace delivered several more lighter strikes of the leather-tipped crop all over her bottom, heating her entire ass and making her involuntarily clench on the ginger.
She couldn’t stop squirming, the tugs to her nipples and increased heat on her clit adding to her torment.
He alternated between light strikes and more intense ones, also switching from her bottom to her upper thighs, heating the entire area and making her ass and pussy clench incessantly with the need to be filled.
Not until he stopped did she realize that she’d been crying out and whimpering, the need and sensations so intense that tears soaked her blindfold. “Please, Ace! I’ll do anything.”
He ran a hand down the hot cheeks of her bottom, his firm, callused hands spreading the heat even more. “I know you will.”
Feeling his hands on her ankle, she felt him cuff one ankle and then the other to a spreader bar.
Hopeful that he would take her now, she bit her lip, shaking with anticipation.
Frowning when he unfastened her wrists, she struggled for balance, but he caught her easily, hoisting her over his shoulder again.
Disappointed that he was taking her to bed instead of fucking her in the playroom, Hope clung to his shirt. “Ace?”
He slapped her already hot ass, making it even hotter. “Quiet.”
She clenched again, sucking in a breath when the ginger released even more heat. She didn’t dare remove the blindfold without permission, even when he continued past the bedroom.