by Laura Hart
“I didn’t know you took my words so seriously.” He gave her a playful smile.
“I don’t, but I want your mother to like me.”
“I’ll help you choose a little something to bring. Maybe we can find a book about Galveston.”
“My hero,” she laughed. Max covered her mouth with his own, nicely ending the conversation.
* * *
It was the weekend before the trip, and they were in Galveston. Sadie had run out to do a few errands, leaving Max at home finally fixing the leaky sink. After he’d finished it, he’d settled down on the sofa with his laptop and a beer.
“I’m home,” called Sadie as she banged through the front door.
She wasn’t a door-banging kind of person, and Max looked up in surprise. “What’s wrong?”
“Some stupid cop was having a slow afternoon and gave me a ticket.” The scowl on her face made it clear what she thought about the policeman in question.
“A ticket! What did you get a ticket for?” She had his full attention.
Without answering, Sadie turned and carried the cleaning she’d picked up back to the bedroom, so Max got up and followed.
“Why did you get a ticket?” he repeated.
“Now my insurance will probably go up,” she grumbled, still not answering his question. “Just what I need.”
Max grabbed hold of her shoulders and sat her down on the bed. “Sadie! What did you get a ticket for? Were you speeding?”
“No, nothing that exciting. I didn’t stop to his holiness’ satisfaction at a stop sign.”
“You ran a stop sign?” Max sounded very unhappy.
“I wouldn’t say I ran it exactly.”
“What would you say exactly?”
Sadie shrugged. “I don’t know. If it had been punctuation, I did a semi-colon rather than a period.” She looked pleased with her comparison. “Maybe it was only a comma, who knows, but I did slow down.”
“But you didn’t stop, and the sign says stop.”
“Thank you for pointing that out. You sound like the cop’s brother.” She started to get up, but Max pushed her back down again. “I’m not done with this conversation.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s done, so just let me forget it.”
Max looked outraged. “I most certainly will not just let you forget it. How could you have put something so precious in danger like that?”
Sadie looked surprised, both at his vehemence and at his words.
“You think my car is precious?”
“No, Sadie. I don’t give a damn about your car. Cars can be replaced but people can’t. I’m talking about you. You put yourself in direct danger when you chose to ‘comma’ your way through a stop sign. You could have been killed or seriously injured.”
“And yet here I am, none the worse for wear. My bank account is going to take a hit, but I’m fine.”
Max gave a small laugh, but not one of amusement. “You’re quite wrong, Sadie. You’re going to be very much the worse for wear, because I intend to spank you until I’m sure you understand the importance of safety while you’re driving. Now, get up and take your pants off.”
Sadie suddenly looked very unhappy. “You wouldn’t have even known if I hadn’t told you. I thought I could trust you.”
“You can trust me, mishka. You can trust me to care about you and want you to be safe. Now take off your pants.”
“No.”
“Sadie, I’m not going to play games with you. You obviously need a lesson in safety, and I intend to give it to you.” He waited, but Sadie didn’t move. She was sitting very still on the bed, her heart beating fast, her tummy doing flip-flops, and her eyes avoiding Max’s.
“You’re only making it worse for yourself,” Max said, watching her intently.
Sadie slowly got off the bed, looked at him darkly, and started taking off her jeans. “Just see if I ever tell you anything again.”
Max watched as she reluctantly took off her jeans and then her bright red panties. Her bottom’s going to match when I get done, he thought to himself grimly. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed where she’d just been and pulled her over to him. “The next time the temptation to be unsafe crosses your mind, I want you to remember this spanking and tell yourself it’s not worth it.”
The words scared Sadie, who’d never before seen Max’s face look so angry.
“Don’t,” she cried, pulling against him. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“That I’m sure of,” he declared as he forced her down over his leg.” She tried to wriggle away, but he held her firmly in place. “Stop fighting me.”
“I’m scared.”
“Good. It will help you learn the lesson better.” With that he raised his hand and brought it down full force on her bare bottom.
“Ow-w!” she cried. “That hurts.”
“You have no idea.” He began striking her soft cheeks over and over, much harder than he had before. He was both furious and terrified knowing that this woman he cared so much about had intentionally put herself in danger, and he let his feelings show in the way he spanked.
Sadie was beside herself. When he’d spanked her last time, it had hurt a lot, but this was entirely different. His hand felt like steel, and he was smacking her poor backside at a furious rate.
“Please, please,” she begged, but the assault continued. The sting was awful, like someone was applying fire directly to her skin. She tried again in vain to get away, and Max grabbed her hand and held it when she tried to protect herself. She’d never in her life experienced such pain, and finally she did the only thing she could: She burst into tears. “Stop! Stop!” she sobbed over and over, and finally he did.
Because of the way her backside was burning, at first Sadie barely realized her torment had ceased. She lay there limply over his knee, without any energy or desire to move. She desperately wanted to put ice on her bottom, but she was too exhausted to figure out how to do so. After several minutes, she heard Max’s deep voice.
“When I think of your carelessness, how you could have been lying crumpled on the road, it makes me crazy. It makes me want to spank you all over again. Don’t you ever, ever do something that dangerous again. Do you hear me, mishka?”
A small sob escaped, and she nodded.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s sit you up now,” he said, putting his hands under her and pulling her off his leg. He sat her on his lap, watching her tear-stained face wince. He felt a flicker of sympathy because he knew that her punishment had been painful, but he also knew that it had been necessary. The pain from a spanking would pass, but death or permanent injury wouldn’t, and he needed to keep her safe. He knew now that this fantastic woman was meant to share his life.
He held her close, wiping her face gently with his handkerchief. “Shh, mishka. It’s all right now,” he murmured.
Sadie’s breathing was still ragged. “It hurts,” she whimpered, her mind still riveted on the fire in her bottom.
“I know.” He rocked her slightly, feeling her soft body against his. “I love you, Sadie. You probably don’t like me much right now, but I love you, and I’ll do whatever I need to to keep you safe.”
Sadie’s mind was still in shock, but she fully understood what he’d just said. He loved her! They’d never used that word before, but she knew immediately it was right.
Her face was still against his chest, but he heard her soft answer. “I love you, too.”
Max is the Real Deal
That night they made love with a renewed passion, aware that their relationship had passed on to a new level. At first, Sadie had wanted to be mad at Max for the way he’d spanked her, but her attraction to him was too intense. Maybe it was the price of loving a strong man like Max. She didn’t know, because there’d never been a man like him in her life before. Even the way he made love was so different from the men she’d known before. He was exquisitely aware of her wa
nts and pleasures while still being forceful and self-assured.
“What’s going on with your money?” he asked her the next morning as they ate breakfast.
“What do you mean?”
“Twice in the last couple weeks you’ve left the impression that your money was tight. Do you have a problem?”
“I’m not as flush as sometimes, but I’ll survive.”
Max looked at her intently. “If there’s a problem, I want to know.”
Four months ago, Sadie would have been outraged at his thinking this was his business, but things were different now. She was different now.
“I don’t have a set income,” she explained. “It comes and goes with whatever I’m doing, and lately it seems to have gone more than come.” She made a wry face.
Max knew she was proud, and he needed to be careful with what he said. He would have been very happy to simply look after everything, but he knew that wasn’t an option for Sadie, at least not now.
“Do you remember the first time I took you to lunch?” he asked with a small smile. “We were talking about your ring, and you made a joke about selling it if you were ever starving. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember my telling you to come to me first if you were ever starving?”
“Yes.”
“Starving is a relative term, but if you’re having temporary problems, you need to tell me and let me help you. That’s what people who love each other do.”
“I’m okay. I don’t have money for extras, like trips or traffic tickets, but I’m hardly starving.”
“All right, but I’ll be very unhappy if I discover that it’s more serious than you’re letting on. You wouldn’t want me unhappy with you again so soon, would you?” He gave her a small meaningful smile, and Sadie could practically feel her still-tender bottom twitch.
“Don’t be such a bully.”
“I’m not being a bully; I’m being a man who cares about you. If you’re in trouble in some way, I expect you to tell me. It doesn’t mean you’re not independent, it just means that you’re not living solo anymore.”
Sadie wasn’t sure she agreed, but she suspected today wasn’t the best time to discuss it, so she let it drop. “I still need to find a book for your mother,” she reminded him instead.
“How about Barnes & Noble in Clear Lake? That’s probably your best bet.”
“Okay. What would you think if we invited Harmony to come with?”
Max looked surprised. He liked Harmony, but they didn’t usually invite her along on their outings. “Why? What’s up?”
“Nothing in particular, but I thought it would be nice to take her out before we leave, and since she loves bookstores, we could bring her along and then go out to eat. Is that all right?”
“It’s fine.”
A couple hours later the three of them were on their way up I-45. Clear Lake City was about halfway to Houston, some thirty minutes away.
“Do you have your phone with you, Harmony?” asked Sadie as they were getting out of the car in the parking lot.
“Of course, darling. Why would you even ask?”
“I just wanted to be sure. I know how you are in bookstores, so this way I can locate you when we’re ready to go again.”
Max frowned at Sadie and then said, “What your daughter means, Harmony, is that you should take your time. We can stay as long as you want.”
Harmony laughed. “Thank you, Max. You’re a real gentleman, but Sadie does have a point. I tend to lose track of time in bookstores.”
Max and Sadie selected a beautiful coffee table book about Galveston. “It weighs a ton,” worried Sadie as she thought about carrying it on the plane.
“Don’t worry, mishka. It will be fine.”
They browsed for a while and then had some coffee. “Have you seen Harmony anywhere?” asked Sadie as she sipped her latte.
“I saw her in the folkdance section a while ago. I love her openness to life. You’re lucky to have such a free-spirited mother.”
Sadie laughed. “Well, that’s certainly a description I can’t disagree with.”
“Does it ever bother you to not have a more traditional mother?”
Sadie thought a minute. “No, I don’t think so. When I was in high school, I might have liked someone to still call ‘Mom,’ but now it’s fine. I have friends whose mothers are always trying to interfere in their lives, so I certainly have it better than they do. I can talk to Harmony about almost anything.”
It was more than an hour before Max finally agreed that Sadie could call Harmony. They met at the front check-out, Harmony staggering under a tall stack of books. Max of course sprang forward and took them for her.
“How nice to have a gentleman,” she commented. “It’s getting rare these days.”
Max smiled but chose not to continue the topic, especially with Sadie present. Once in the car, they sat and discussed where they should go for lunch.
“Harmony, you’re our guest today,” said Max, turning towards her. “What would you like to eat?”
“If everyone’s up for it, I’d love to go to Mogul. I always make a pig of myself on their naan.
“Are we talking Indian?” asked Max, who wasn’t familiar with the restaurant.
“If you like Indian.”
“I’m fine with almost anything, so Indian it is, but someone will have to direct me to the restaurant.”
It didn’t take much directing as it was less than two miles away down the same main road. Max was interested to see that it was also practically next door to the NASA Space Center.
“I’d like to come visit the center sometime,” he said to Sadie as they were walking into the restaurant.
“I’m not sure they let Russians in,” she replied with a wicked little laugh.
“Sadie!” Harmony looked surprised at her daughter’s reply, but Max just laughed. “It’s fine, Harmony. Your daughter has a fascination with my being Russian. You shouldn’t have let her watch all those spy movies when she was little.”
They opted for the buffet and did their best to try as many items as possible. Harmony was true to her word and went through several pieces of naan. “I’m going to miss you while you’re gone,” she said as she savored her second plate from the buffet. “Are you going to do anything in particular in St. Petersburg or just generally enjoy being there?
Max smiled to himself. He had an idea for something very particular he wanted to do, but he wasn’t ready to share it yet. “I’m going to show Sadie the sights, and of course we’ll spend some time with my family.”
“Tell me about your family,” Harmony said as she blissfully nibbled on her third piece of naan. Max watched in fascination, wondering how she managed to be so slim. Sadie seemed to have her mother’s genes, because she too had a healthy appetite and yet seemed to remain trim.
“I’m fortunate that both of my parents are still living, and then I have one brother who’s three years younger than me and a sister who’s five years younger.”
“Than you or than your brother?”
“Than me. She’s very close in age to Sadie. I expect they’ll find some mischief to get into.”
Sadie drew herself up in her chair and glared at Max. “I do not get into mischief, as you so condescendingly call it. Perhaps you just don’t understand female activities.”
Max looked amused. “That must be it,” he said with a wink at Harmony.
“Do they all work in the family business?” continued Harmony, enjoying the cross play between Sadie and Max.
“My mother isn’t active in it, although she’s always been an important consultant for my father when it comes to designs for the jewelry. My brother, David, and my sister, Anna, work with my father full time. David spends a lot of time in Moscow, and Anna does some traveling, too. We also have some extended family members who work with us.”
“Does your father design the jewelry himself?”
“No, he’s not a designe
r. We have very talented artists who do that. My father is kept more than busy running the business.”
“But do you keep it mostly within the family?”
“The ownership is strictly a family affair, but beyond that, no, that wouldn’t be possible. It’s too large. Most of our managers are not family members. Our best buyer has been with us for years, and we feel very close to him, but he’s not related.”
“I thought you made your own jewelry,” put in Sadie with a surprised look on her face.
“We do make our own contemporary designs, but we sell many other items, too, like that malachite box that caught your eye. Nikolai is very talented at spotting the unusual at auctions and other such places, plus occasionally we bring in antique jewelry, too.”
“How very interesting,” replied Harmony. “I’d love to see your designs sometime.”
“When we come back, I’ll show you our shop in the Galleria and let you browse through our catalog.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
Just then Max felt his phone vibrate. He glanced at the screen and apologized. “I really need to take this. Please excuse me.” He got up and walked away from the table so as not to be rude.
“Darling, Max is the real deal,” said Harmony, her eyes sparkling. “I think I’m in love with him myself.”
“Harmony!” Then Sadie turned serious. “He told me he loved me, and I told him I loved him, too.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”
“But it’s scary.”
“Many good things are scary, darling. Don’t you dare get cold feet and let him go. He’s a real man, and I mean that in all the best ways. Men like Max are few and far between. I think having your bag stolen was one of the luckiest things that ever happened to you.”
* * *
“What were you and your mother talking about today in the restaurant?”
Max and Sadie were on her sofa, and he had his arms tightly around her.
“You were there. Weren’t you listening?”
“Is that any way to speak to your elders?”
Sadie giggled. “At least you admit you’re an elder.”