by Thianna D.
Holy fuck. Dina wasn’t sure if she should sit or swoon. Women in regency novels really had a good excuse. When things were too much? Faint. If she tried that, Jason and Rose would probably take her to the doctor. Her brain rushed at incredible speed, trying to find a suitable response to such words, but her education was mostly academic and after a few seconds of desperation she sat down, relieved when he sat beside her. Obviously talking to an intelligent man was going to be more difficult than she thought.
Chapter 3
At his piano, Brandon realized he had been sitting on the bench with his fingers resting on the keys for quite some time without playing one note. He didn’t have to wonder where his mind was. It was on Dina Minor. The woman had captivated him when he saw her at the pool. After speaking to her a few nights ago, he couldn’t get her off his mind.
As long as he could remember, he had been attracted to intelligent women. Many men got off on porn. While he could use it, it didn’t have far near the effect a woman who was intelligent had on him. He’d already been attracted when they met. But for the last few days, his whole focus had been on whether or not to ask her out. When they ended the evening with her leaving with her grandparents, she had said, “Nice to meet you,” but had made no mention of seeing him again.
The fact she was here only for the summer was one of his issues. If she was truly here for only a couple months, the last thing he would want would be to start some sort of relationship. On the other hand, if the universe had handed him his perfect woman, should he really sit back and do nothing?
Groaning at his own stupidity, he stood up and went downstairs, looking for the community list. There was one sure way to get this out of his head and into the light. Ask the girl out. The Rolsons’ number was near the top and he dialed, easing himself into his armchair. His leg had been good for the last couple of days and he wanted to keep it that way.
“Rolsons,” Dina said simply into the phone.
“Dina? It’s Brandon.”
“Oh, hello.” Her voice warmed. “Gram and Gramps aren’t here if you’re calling for them.”
“Actually, I’m calling for you. I was wondering if you would like to go for a hike.”
“I’d love to! I’ve been meaning to go check out the trails but hadn’t gotten the chance. When and where?” Her excitement helped to ease some of his nervousness and he relaxed.
“How about tomorrow morning? We can pack a lunch and get ourselves lost.”
Her laughter rang through the line, making him smile. “Sounds like a plan. Shall we start out early?”
* * * *
The trail they took was relatively easy. It weaved around the community and yet surrounded by trees, it felt as though civilization was a million miles away. Of course, his mind wasn’t. It was on the beautiful woman ahead of him who was wearing barely-there blue shorts and a tight t-shirt. By the time he got home from their outing, he would have to jump into the shower. If they were out too long, he was sure to have a case of blue balls. As if knowing he was thinking about her, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad you called,” she said as they came upon a small stream and she knelt down, letting her fingers drift with the current. “I wondered if I’d scared you off.”
“Scared me off?” he asked in amusement, removing the pack he was wearing and plopping it down on the ground. “Not possible. Like I said, you’re a beautiful woman, Dina. Add in your intelligence, and you have the whole package.”
Snorting, she raised an eyebrow. “Right. Along with my flat chest and my ability to insult military men at the drop of a hat.” Thinking of some of her comments the evening of the barbeque made him grin. But his grin spread even further as her words allowed him to gaze at her flat, and yet somehow still perky, chest.
“Your chest looks fine to me,” he said, his eyes twinkling as she looked startled. Leaning around, he glanced at her rear end, which he had been watching all morning. “And your ass is rather nice, too.”
Squeaking what he thought was a laugh, she splashed him before standing up. “Don’t tell me, you’re an ass man.”
“I’m living in Corbin’s Bend. What do you think?”
Pausing, she looked closely at him. “So, you’re into that whole spanking thing?”
His heart plummeted. Oh, no. He had assumed since she was there that she was into spanking. Don’t tell him he had instantly been attracted to the one woman at the barbeque who wasn’t into discipline. “Yes, I am.”
Her jaw moved back in forth as she seemed to think about his answer. “Does it hurt?” she finally asked, her warm eyes that were more blue than lavender today, watching him with interest.
That had not been the question he was expecting, but at least she didn’t sound completely opposed to it. “It can. There are so many different ways to spank. Discipline, teasing, erotic.” He shrugged. “Some people love it, others don’t. It’s a personal thing.”
She nodded, her hand reaching up and her index finger rubbing lightly over her lower lip. She had done the same thing the other night and he realized it was something she did when she tried to figure something out.
“I’ve never been spanked before. Well, as a kid I was a couple times, but not as an adult. Gram says it helps her to get rid of guilt.” She swayed back and forth, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. “Could you show me how it feels?”
As if her looking up at him like that didn’t already send heat rushing through his body, her request almost made him cum. “You want me to spank you?” he asked to make sure he wasn’t just hearing things.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
If he wouldn’t mind. Brandon shook his head as this was the oddest and yet most exciting conversation he could imagine. He half wondered if he was dreaming the entire thing. “All right.” Looking around, he saw a fallen tree and walked up to it, sitting down to make sure it was stable. “Come on.” He waved her over and she appeared startled, but walked toward him. Now he could see if there was any real interest.
As she came close, he patted his lap. “Bend over my knees.”
A strange sort of giggle left her lips but she walked to his left side as he directed and bent stiffly over his legs. Her rear wasn’t at the best angle. If he spanked her now, he would hit mostly her upper rump which could hurt her and he didn’t want her to dislike it. Grasping her hips he moved her a little further onto his lap, lifting her feet off the ground.
“Umm,” she said, sounding a little breathless. “Now what?”
He almost laughed. Her brain was kicking in and he half expected her to tell him some scientific fact about spanking or being upside down as she was. Deciding to help her switch gears, he grasped on to her waist and let his hand rest right on her rear. She had a wonderful derriere. Whereas the rest of her was thin, her ass was not. Unable to resist, he lifted his hand and brought it down in a brisk light swat on her left cheek. The sound as his hand resounded with her shorts was loud in the clearing, but the light sting in his palm sent a zing further south and he quickly swatted her other cheek.
At first she didn’t react, except a small gasp, but by the fifth swing, he hit a little harder and she stiffened before a tiny moan left her lips. That moan made him smile. And continue. With it being her first spanking, he admittedly played it safe, only going to ten before he landed a sharp slap to her sit spot. Her moans had gotten progressively louder with each swing and when he handed the last swat, she cried out, grasping onto his leg.
Rubbing lightly over her shorts, he waited a few seconds before speaking. “What do you think?”
“Umm, it wasn’t what I expected,” she admitted. “I always thought the heroines in novels were silly when they liked being spanked.”
“And now?” he asked, scarcely breathing. He felt she had enjoyed it, but until she said the words, he couldn’t know for sure.
“Now I want to know what a real one feels like.”
* * * *
Bouncing back and forth on the balls
of her feet, Dina waited anxiously for her grandmother to get home. Today had turned out so much better than she could expected but she was also highly confused. A spanking. Brandon spanked her. And she had liked it.
Not only had she liked it but she wanted another one and he had promised her he would spank her on their date tonight. “Great, I get spanked in the morning and all I can think of is his hand on my ass all day,” she groaned, continuing her fidgeting. Reaching back, she was disappointed there was no residual anything from the light swatting he had performed earlier. She understood he was being nice about it and while she appreciated it, she wanted to feel the effects.
The sharp slaps with his hand had at first stung, but the residual warmth that spread out from each slap had been wonderful. Not to mention the excitement of that last swat. When his hand landed in the crease between her buttocks and thighs, she understood the phrase, “It hurts so good.”
As the sound of the front door opening came to her, she looked at her reflection in the mirror to make sure she looked all right and then darted down the stairs. “Gram?”
“Did you enjoy your hike?” Rose asked as she got to the bottom step.
“Yes, I did. The woods around here are gorgeous.” Dina opened her mouth to ask, but it was difficult to force the words out. How did one say, “Gram, Brandon spanked me and I liked it”? Apparently, it was to think the phrase not realizing you said the words out loud.
Rose raised an eyebrow. “And how do you feel about that?”
With her secret out, Dina let out a gust of air and walked over to a sofa, collapsing onto it. “I don’t know. He’s going to give me what he calls a real spanking tonight after dinner. How can the pain feel good?”
Her grandmother smiled. “Oh, honey, you’ve started down an exciting road. Come help me start dinner and we’ll talk.”
It was much easier to talk about the subject when her hands were busy chopping vegetables. “I actually asked him,” Dina explained as she poured the vegetables into a bowl. “I’m not sure how I got the guts to do it.”
“Nothing wrong with finding out if you like something,” Rose said. “And Brandon seems like a nice man.”
“He really is. But I’m nervous about tonight, now.”
Her grandmother hugged her lightly with one arm. “I’m proud of you. It takes guts to find out how you feel. Most people want but never actively try what they desire. You did.”
“I’m either adventurous or crazy,” Dina said wryly, making her grandmother laugh. “I’ll let you know tomorrow which one it is.”
She changed her outfit five times, finally settling on a deep blue shirt-waist dress with a long, flared skirt. After slipping her feet into a pair of sandals, she went downstairs to wait. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long for his knock. As she opened the door, she had to blink. Brandon stood in dress slacks and a button-down shirt. He was gorgeous in jeans. In a dressed-up look, he was stunning. “Hi.”
He offered a warm smile, his eyes drifting down and back up her body and turning a dark gray. The look in his eyes made her stomach tighten at the same time she clenched her legs together. She wondered if she should have put on a panty liner. “Good evening. Are you ready for some Italian food?”
“Italian? Yum.” Turning her head, Dina called, “Gram, I’m going!”
“Have fun, honey!”
He drove to a classy-looking restaurant with an entire wall of windows looking out on the community. It was incredibly crowded as they entered and walked up to the hostess, a young woman of maybe eighteen or nineteen. “How long is the wait?” Brandon asked quietly.
“About twenty minutes. If you’d like, the bar’s open and there’s no waiting in there.”
He looked over at her. “How does the bar sound?”
“Great. I’m hungry.”
Not many people were in the bar area and they found a cozy table in the corner. Lights flickered from candles in the middle of each table and Dina thought the ambiance was romantic, something she wasn’t used to, but appreciated. A waitress showed up almost instantly. “Welcome to Amore. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked as she handed each of them a menu.
“What would you like?” Brandon asked her.
“I’m horrible at picking out wine,” Dina admitted. “Can you choose?” He looked pleased by her request and picked up the wine list. A few minutes later the waitress left with their drink order and the two of them poured over the menu. “For such a small community, the restaurant offers a lot of things,” she commented.
“I’ve been told the people who built Corbin’s Bend expect a certain level of food and service from their restaurants. This is the first one I’ve tried, but from what I hear, they’re all amazing. Anything look good to you?”
“Everything,” Dina admitted, her stomach rumbling.
Laughing softly, he said, “Want to get a couple different things and share?” It was a wonderful idea, but they had a hard time narrowing it down to two things. In the end, he ordered the linguini with clam sauce, crab lasagna, and the spaghetti marinara for them to try.
“So, what does someone with a music doctorate do?” she asked after the waitress left. It wasn’t a flippant question and she was glad that he seemed to understand that. Dina had a horrible knack of insulting people without meaning to.
They talked through dinner, the conversation flowing from music to chemistry and back easily. Dina didn’t remember ever being with a guy and finding it so easy to talk to him before.
“It came down to either taking a desk job or leaving the Marines. Sitting behind a desk would have driven me nuts. I decided as my military career was ended, I might as well go on to my other love,” he said as they finished their meals. Dina wasn’t sure which of the dishes she liked more and looked forward to coming back and trying out more of the wonderful food.
“How often does your leg bother you?” she asked as he handed the waitress the folder containing the bill and the payment.
“It comes and goes. Unfortunately, the doctors say it will steadily get worse for the rest of my life.” Brandon grimaced and she felt badly for him. He was an active man. It seemed a shame for him to be stalled by a physical ailment. “I just do what I can. On bad days, I relax, but I have no intention of letting it stop me from enjoying life. Are you ready to go?”
Her stomach did a little flip as he drove them to his house. She assumed he still had every intention of spanking her, and she was on board. But now she was kind of hoping for even more and what if a spanking made it so that she couldn’t enjoy anything afterward? Just how much pain would she be in when all was said and done?
Brandon’s house was much smaller than her grandparents’, and it was rather comfortable. After he got them each a glass of wine, he sat down on the sofa and pulled her down next to him. “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said into her ear. “I won’t do anything you don’t want.”
Giggling nervously, because she hadn’t realized how much she was emitting her worried state, she snuggled into his warm arms. “I want everything.” Realizing how blunt that sounded, she winced and looked up into his gray eyes.
“You want an erotic spanking and sex?” he asked, speaking the words she didn’t think she could say.
“Yes.” The thought of being in his arms and having sex made her blood boil. It had been too long since she had been with a man and somehow she knew Brandon would make things good.
“All right.” He removed the wine from her hands and put both glasses on the coffee table. “We can have that later. Come with me.” Standing up, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She trailed along after him into his bedroom. The walls were clear except for a picture of him in his dress uniform with two people flanking him that she assumed were his parents. The room itself was taken up with a huge bed and her eyes snapped onto it.
“That was taken four years ago,” he told her, obviously noting her preoccupation and thinking it was about the picture and not the bed.
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br /> “You look handsome in your uniform,” she said before quickly realizing how that could be taken. “Not that you aren’t already handsome. I mean you’re drop-dead gorgeous of course and I’m still not sure what you—”
Warm lips pressed against her own and with a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clung to him as he lightly nipped her bottom lip. “Don’t be nervous,” he murmured, his lips trailing over her cheek. “I won’t harm you, Dina.”
Laughing softly, she leaned against him. “I never mean to insult people, but it seems to be a gift. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t think you good looking because I do.”
“I can tell.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “And just for the record, even though I’ve said it before. You’re absolutely stunning, Carodine Minor. And I definitely want you.” The growl in those last five words made her gulp even as he pulled her hips close and she felt his hard length through his pants. As her breath caught in her throat, he kissed her again before pulling back. “Let’s get comfortable,” he said in encouragement, reaching forward and unbuttoning the front of her dress.
It had never occurred to her when she put the dress on what a brilliant idea it was. The large buttons were quite easy for him to pop open and when he reached the last one, with one flick of his wrists, it slid off her shoulders and she let it drop to the floor. Standing in front of him in her bra, panties, garter belt, and heels, she felt like some strange porn movie – chemists who do porn – and was about to wrap her arms in front of herself when she looked up into his face.
He was captivated. His eyes devoured her and for the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. And sexy. Brandon’s fingers slid down her body slowly, his fingertips rubbing on the edge where her bra met skin. Each touch flashed fire across her skin and as the memory of their morning came to her, she knew what she wanted and needed. “Spank me,” she breathed, watching him.