My Sassy Settler (Willamette Wives Book 2) (8 page)

"Not this one. It's absolutely perfect just the way it is. It might not be as pretty, but it is the most important one in my life," he said. She looked across the table to find his eyes on hers and when reached for her hand, she laid hers in his. "It shows that with careful attention, tenderness, trust, and most especially with love, things broken can be made whole again."

Tears flooded her eyes as she looked at the eggs. Hope filled her heart with the promise they represented. He lifted their hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"That's the promise I give you, Aggy." Too full of emotion to speak, she gave him a shaky smile and a nod. "Now, eat up because, darlin', I've every intention of proving that promise."

Though his promise, as well as the look in his eyes, had her stomach filling with butterflies, she managed to eat.

After they were done, she cleared the table, being careful not to jar the centerpiece. She placed the dishes in the pan and was lifting the bucket of water he'd filled from the large barrel at the side of the house when he took it from her.

"You can do the dishes later."

"But—"

"Later, Agatha. We have something more important to attend to."

Nodding, she stepped back, understanding that he was talking about the spankings he'd promised to deliver. Remembering the long list of transgressions she'd confessed to while over his lap, her bottom clenched.

"Go ahead and take off your apron," he instructed as he moved away.

Obeying, she untied the bow at her back and then hung the apron on its hook. Her hands itched to at least pour the water over the dishes but his next words had all thoughts of housekeeping flying from her mind.

"Come here, Agatha."

Looking towards him, she saw that he had moved his chair out from the table. He'd taken a seat and was holding out his hand. Swallowing hard, she took the first step that would change the dynamic of their marriage. Walking to him, she stopped when she reached his side.

"Do you remember why you are going to be spanked?"

"Y-yes," she whispered.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir, I remember."

"Good." He patted his lap. "Right over now."

She could feel her face flush but obediently bent to lie across his knees. A soft gasp escaped her as she felt unbalanced but he put an arm around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body.

"I've got you, darlin'. I won't let you fall. Put your hands flat on the floor."

Planting her hands on the floor, she realized that the only contact possible with her feet were the very tips of her boots, and yet she felt secure. That was until he began to lift her skirts.

"What are you doing?" she gasped.

"Baring your bottom for your spanking," he answered, her skirts and petticoats lifting higher.

"But…"

"Exactly," he said as he laid the yards of fabric onto her back. "Your little butt is my target, and I'll need to see it to deliver your spanking."

"My Pa never—"

"Agatha, I'm not your Pa. I am your husband. I told you that spankings given to a child differ from those given to a wife. I'm also telling you that I will be the one to decide not only how to position you, but how your clothing will be adjusted if you are wearing any."

Wearing any? Surely he couldn't mean… Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the tie at the back of her waist being tugged at. "What are you doing?"

He sighed before answering. "Agatha, it is not customary for you to question my every move, especially when you are being punished. Normally we'd begin with some swats over your bloomers, but since I gave you a few in the barn, go ahead and lift up for me."

Pushing against the floor with her hands, she attempted to rise.

"No, honey, just your hips so I can take your bloomers down." Her soft whimper did nothing to dissuade him. "Lift up, Agatha. When you are being spanked, it will be on your bare bottom."

He'd never even seen her fully naked. When she bathed it was behind the closed door of their bedroom. When he claimed his husbandly rights, he did so under the blankets and simply pushed her nightdress up before pressing into her. He was always so gentle and accommodating of her shyness—well, until now. She felt her entire body flush but managed to lift her hips. His fingers grazed her skin as his hand tugged on first one side and then the other until her bloomers had been successfully tugged down. Her eyes closed as they continued their journey until he released them at her ankles. She could feel the cool air wafting across her flesh and goosebumps once more rising on her arms. However, this time they weren't caused by thoughts of her husband's bared chest, they were caused by the knowledge that he was not only looking at her naked bottom, but, seeing as it was daytime, she didn't have either the darkness of the night or the concealing covers of their bed to hide behind.

"You have a beautiful little ass."

Oh God, who said such things? Surely it wasn't a proper topic of conversation, regardless of the fact that he was her husband. This time it wasn't his order that broke through her thoughts, it was the feel of his hand rubbing circles across her buttocks.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready? For what?" Though she'd been reluctantly ready to be turned face down over his knees, she surely hadn't been ready to be bared.

"For your spanking, Agatha. Are you ready for me to begin?"

"Uh… um, I-I guess."

"That's my good girl."

Before she had time to process the fact that his simple praise made her heart fill, she felt his hand move from her backside. Though she couldn't actually see it, she could sense it lifting in the air. She was just about to inform him that no, she wasn't ready, she wasn't anywhere near ready, when the first stroke descended to smack against her flesh.

Chapter Six

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"I told you to go to the corner and what did you do?"

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"You ran away.

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"You are never to run away from me, young lady!"

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"You scared the hell out of me when I couldn't find you."

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"But I was scared!" she protested.

"Scared of what? Scared of me?"

She shook her head. "No, I-I was scared that you… that you would set me aside. That I was so… so bad that you didn't want me anymore."

"I'll never do that, Aggy. No matter what, I will always want you. Do you understand?"

"I-I guess." She gasped when he resumed her spanking.

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"You guess? Young lady, I love you and I will never let you go. Do you understand?"

"Ye-yes, sir."

"You weren't bad, Agatha. You are too wonderful and too sweet to ever be bad. That doesn't mean you weren't very, very naughty," Wyatt said, his hand connecting again with her backside.

Smack… smack… smack… smack

"Ow! Stop!" She reached back to cover her bottom.

"Get your hands off your backside and put them back on the floor."

"Can't I get up? I won't… Ow!"

Wyatt's hand moved to slap against the back of her other thigh. "No, young lady, you won't be getting up for quite a while yet."

"But my bottom already hurts! That's enough spanking!"

Shaking his head, he reached for her hands, easily gathering them in one of his. She gasped as he pinned them to the small of her back and she began to squirm in an effort to swim off his lap.

"Enough? Agatha, your ass isn't even pink yet."

"It's not?"

Her response gave him pause and he couldn't help but smile. "No, honey, it's not." He released her hands. "Look back and see for yourself."

She turned, her neck craning and shook her head. "I can't see."

Realizing that the mound of clothing at her waist was blocking her view, he attempted to press it flatter.

She twisted a bit, her back arching. "I still can't see."

"Okay, let's try this." He helped her off his lap and then reached for the button of her skirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Aggy, you don't seem to believe me. I want you to know that you can trust me. In order to do that, you need to look for yourself."

"Wait, um, I believe you."

Wyatt looked up at her to see her face reddening. The cheeks above her neck had far more color than those below. "I still want you to see for yourself." He pushed the button free and her skirt slid to the floor. She gasped when he untied the ribbon of her petticoat and, the moment it began to slide, she slapped her hands over her pubis.

Wyatt had to fight the urge to reach for her hands and push them aside. She was his wife and he had every right to look at every single part of her. And yet, he understood that it was going to take some time for her to get past the image of herself that bastard had been drilling into her.

"Now can you see?"

"What?"

"Your bottom, honey. Look back and tell me what you see."

He watched as she turned her head to look over her left shoulder. He almost chuckled when she turned her head to look over her other shoulder, as if positive that her right cheek had to show color. Finally, she looked up at him.

"So?" he said.

"Um, it's not red."

"Is it pink?"

More color suffused her face as she flushed again. "No, sir."

"Can you trust me to finish your spanking? I swore I'd never hurt you and I will keep that promise."

"My bot-bottom might not be pink, but it does hurt."

Wyatt nodded. "Spankings are supposed to hurt, Agatha. It would be a rather pointless exercise if they didn't. But I swear to you, I will never harm you."

"Okay."

He took her arm to guide her back over his knees but she resisted, bending down as she released one hand which had been shielding herself from his view to reach towards the floor.

"What about my clothes?"

"Darlin', remember, I told you that there is nothing indecent or improper between a man and his wife. That includes your body or mine." He had to fight the urge to grin as an idea came to him. "Would it make you feel more comfortable if I took off my pants?"

She instantly popped back up. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped. "Oh… um, no, that's-that's not necessary."

"Well then, shall we continue?"

"Do-do we have to?"

He was pretty sure that having to fight against smiling was uncommon when disciplining a wife but he was definitely having to do so. She was just so precious.

"Yes, darlin', we do." He patted his lap and she allowed him to guide her into position.

Wyatt tucked her into his waist once more. He rubbed his fingertips across her flesh. Being in charge wasn't the easy job he'd imagined from his time as a young man. The weight of responsibility was heavy on his shoulders and in his heart.

Agatha was a small woman and yet she wasn't weak. Her body was trim, perfectly curved and padded in all the right places, and she was healthy. She wasn't made of glass but the last year had made her very fragile in her soul. If they had a chance to become whole, he would have to be strong enough to fully accept the burden of responsibility. He would also have to be patient and guide her slowly along the path to a better place. The time it took didn't really matter. They had the rest of their lives. The important thing was that they would take the journey together.

"I know that when we were in the barn I told you that I was going to spank you with my hand and also use your hairbrush. However, if you can stay in position and accept the rest of your spanking, we won't use the brush today."

"Will you hold my hand?"

Her request tugged at his heartstrings. "Yes, if you'd like me to."

She reached back and he took her hand, this time entwining their fingers together.

"Thank you."

"No, Aggy, thank you. Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes, sir."

He didn't lecture this time. His hand moved from cheek to cheek, delivering swat after swat, until her skin began to turn pink. Even though he knew it was a light spanking, it was the first time he'd truly punished her. As he increased the force of his swats just the slightest, the color of her beautifully plump globes began moving towards red. Though he was quite positive she had been ready to accept her spanking, she began to wiggle and twist, her feet kicking up as her bottom was heated.

"Naughty. Do you need to bring me your hairbrush?"

"No! I mean, no, sir. I'm sorry!"

"I know you are, darlin', but you will learn that while it's quite easy to say words, it takes more to prove you are truly repentant. Show me you accept the fact that you've been naughty and deserve your spanking by being still and keeping your feet down."

He was very pleased when she sighed and then finally submitted, her body relaxing as her feet dropped and her buttocks unclenched. He gave her a few more swats before resting his hand on her bottom. Though he'd been listening carefully and had heard her gasps and soft mewls, she had yet to cry, which would have given him an audible clue to how she was doing. Rubbing his palm in a circle, he was both testing her skin to make sure she could take more, and rubbing at least a bit of the sting away before he continued.

It was several moments before he realized that she was pushing her bottom up into his palm. He ran his fingertips over her skin and then traced the crease where her bottom met her thighs. She gave a soft moan and, as he drew his fingers along the crease a second time, her legs opened the slightest bit. Swallowing hard, he slid his fingers to rest on her thigh.

"Open your legs for me, Aggy." He could feel a tremble run through her but her legs parted a bit further. "Good girl." He slid his fingers down and the moment his fingertips brushed her sex, she moaned again, tightened her grip on his hand, and opened her legs a tiny bit more.