Chapter Four #2
“Well, no...” His hand again stopped her words.
“I was worried when I couldn’t find you and no one was sure where you had gone. You were unsafe and you know I discipline for that.”
“Well, not today. I’m not taking a spanking for not getting permission to go.
Any more than I didn’t know where you were or I would have known you were coming home early.
Or I would have had some input when you said you were going for yet another month to work with the Forest Service.
I mean, it was a tell not a discussion.”
“One has nothing to do with this.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No. Two different issues.”
“Not as different as you think. You’re so arrogant.”
She pushed him hard, and when he didn’t even sway, she reached up and slapped his face.
Her hand flew to her own face in shock, and she stepped back before turning to go crashing through the woods, her shorts offering her legs no protection from the berry bushes and other low vegetation.
She was crying and bleeding by the time Quinn had her in his arms. Cheyenne was crying from the pain, both physical and emotional.
Quinn snatched her up from the ground she had finally dropped to and said, “That’s not what I said.
” He held her close and kissed her as though she were his lifeblood.
“You scared me when I couldn’t find you.
I saw smoke as I was looking for you and I have just spent a month putting those fires out.
You could have easily been trapped.” His voice shook, “or worse.”
She hiccuped and nodded in silent understanding. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m so scared when you go to fight those fires or when there is some trouble you have to get in the middle of. Don’t you think I’m scared, worried, anxious when you’re gone?”
“I know, baby, I know.” He held her close again and rubbed her back.
Walking back to where they had been originally, he located a stump and, taking a seat with her on his lap, he looked at her legs with the scratches.
He sighed and shook his head. “This won’t do.
I was going to have you cut your own switches but after seeing your legs now, I couldn’t do that to you even though I wouldn’t break your skin like that.
” He traced some of the deeper scratches carefully.
“Thank you.” Her body relaxed against him. He sat and comforted her for a few moments before he kissed her briskly on top of the head. Standing up, he placed her feet on the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“Spanking you, only instead of a birching, it will be with my belt, but know that other than the implement, all things remain the same. I love you, and I’m not going to do more than get my point across, but I’ll do that. Put your hands on the stump and put your cute derrière out.”
“What about you?” His confused look irritated her. “You don’t tell me in advance. I have to pray you aren’t too tired or dead to call me at night.” Her hands went on her hips. It was so adorable, her pout and stomp in protest. Quinn worked hard not to smile and kiss her senseless.
“I can see we will need to discuss the work part of the disclosure requirement.” He stiffened his resolve, and his voice sounded gruff. “But for now, do as I say. I need to get to work.”
“I thought you were home early and would have time off.”
“I do have time off but I need to debrief.”
“Well, we could always postpone this—oomph! Hey, I don’t need help.”
“Today, piscín, today.”
There it was the word that took this from pure punishment to spank and play.
If at any time it did not come into action, she would worry that would indicate real crime and real penalty.
This is where the comfort zone was for both of them, where they lived most days.
The serious game they did well. True, unvarnished discipline was reserved for intentional disobedience that had obvious potential for harm, which this was not.
Cheyenne bent over and laid the palms of her hands flat on the chain-sawed stump and took a deep breath.
Placing his hand on her back for stabilization, Quinn spoke soothingly. “Five. They are going to hurt but not in the same way as the birching would have. I bet your legs are already stinging from the berry vines.”
The first, as always, took her breath away. He waited, as always, while telling her to breathe. The second belt swing landed overlapping the first and brought her to her toes for a few seconds before she rolled back down to place her feet flat on the ground again.
“Ugh. Please, honey, it hurts.” The next one was like the first two, and on number four she bounced, drawing a hissing breath before returning to her position, cringing for the last, always hardest swat.
She was so anticipating it to burn she stood on her tiptoes just as the belt was in motion catching her upper thigh and Quinn’s favorite attention getting spot, the sweet sit spot.
“Ow, Ow, Ow.” She bounced and then popped up, immediately reaching for her seared behind.
“Oh, no, my dear, no soothing, I want it to sit there. That last one hit in a more sensitive spot than was my intention but you moved and caught it right where you will notice it. It was as though it was meant to be.” He grabbed her hands and brought them to his lips.
“I feel so much better now. How about you?”
“I hope you’re quite satisfied with the way by ass aches.”
“Hmm. Good thing you love leather. It was one of my good belts, too.”
“Not for punishment,” she retorted.
“But it’s so much better than yelling at each other, hurt feelings, angry words, and things we can’t take back.”
“I’ll get back to you on that,” was her sullen response. Quinn released his indulgent, delicious, throaty laugh of enjoyment, and it was over. The error in judgment, the inconsideration of others, the irritation, the fear, the anger — it was all gone.
“Okay, I have no intentions of pleasuring you on this insect-infested ground, and you need to clean up your scratches. Do you have disinfectant and cream?” He waited for her nod before continuing, “When are you coming home?”
“The plan was to go tonight or tomorrow morning.” She had to ignore her need to rub her burning butt.
“Which is it?” he asked as he leaned down to lick her lips that were already held by her teeth.
“Does it matter?” She murmured as she relinquished her lips to his insistent ones.
She leaned back and licked her lips before looking up at her fiancé’s face and saw her Dom lower his chin and lift his eyebrows in a display of disbelief. She deflated in the face of another spankable issue.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you came home tonight but I do have enough to do so I can make it until tomorrow morning. You call me as soon as you get into town. No exceptions or you will be one sore and sorry woman. Understood?”
“More than now, you mean.” Before he could respond, she said, “Yes. I’ll call, but I’m not sure what time I’ll be back in town.” She surreptitiously glanced up to see his expectant look remained. “By noon, though.”
“Good, now where is that first aid kit?” He left her at camp with a searing kiss and a parting smack to her aching bottom that reignited the burn just enough to remind her for a few more hours that her man loved her.