Chapter Twenty-Three
After dealing with the worries of retribution from the women, calls to Da to check in and Quinn to confess her transgressions, things were calmed down enough for Cheyenne to relax.
As expected, Quinn, who promised a discussion of her decision when he returned, left no doubt as to the type of discussion to prepare for.
All of her sins fully disclosed, she was finally able to settle into their short-term home until their O’Connor house was completed in the spring.
Cheyenne quickly went about setting the little three-bedroom place to rights, catching up on her accounting, and doing everything she could to make it perfect for when Quinn came home.
She told herself it had been a good decision, even if she hadn’t heard the last of it because she was feeling more settled.
She had all of her accounts laid out and ready to receive the last work before tax time submissions.
The day that Cheyenne had been both excited and nervous to arrive finally dawned. All that was promised was fulfilled. Hoping that if it were perfect, he would be glad she had done it or at least satisfied with the outcome, she worked extra hard to make it all settled and inviting.
“Cheyenne, are you never going to get that I’m the boss?
” questioned Quinn later that night as he prepared to set his bride straight about the ill-advised but ultimately harmless choice of coming to the Circle C Ranch by herself.
He laid four solid leather-enhanced swats on her no longer pristine bottom.
His hand had taken care of changing that landscape.
She sucked in air harshly and exhaled. “No, sir, I understand but really, it was not a big deal. You have to let me do what I can do. I’m not a child.” His answer was another four slaps on her now reddening bottom.
“But we had discussed it and agreed you would wait. Then, in the dead of winter, you left without me. That’s what isn’t acceptable behavior.” Another round of four came slamming down on her burning nates.
Her breathing was coming quicker, and the sting was lingering and compounding. “I’m sorry, but I was bored. You left me with nothing to do and too much time on my hands. I’m not used to boredom, Quinn. I needed to do something.”
He hesitated before the next round. “Four more and you’re going to feel these.
It isn’t that I think you can’t, it’s that we agreed you wouldn’t and then, you did it anyway.
How am I supposed to believe you’re going to listen to anything else I say if you went against me the first time I told you no?
” His heavy hand bounced off her hot and aching bottom.
The sound of her stifled cries was heard over his connecting leather that completed her retribution.
“Your memory is faulty if you think that was the first time. And to refresh your memory further, you dictated, I didn’t say anything against it at the time.
“I hope you have an idea what the penalty for going against your husband’s expressed wishes actually means for your sitting enjoyment.”
“Good lord, I have known that for years now. You need to understand I worked hard to make it perfect for you and you’re treating me like I committed a freaking crime.”
He kissed her hot bottom and groaned as he brought her upright.
“I know you did, and I love it, but I need to know you’re safe.
This wasn’t the safest time to go it alone.
I know you’re capable. I fucking love that.
It is part of who I am to keep you safe the best I can.
You have to allow me to be that person, just as you want me to allow you certain things. ”
Cheyenne answered from her perch, gingerly sitting on Quinlan’s lap after having lain over it for an extended time, feeling the sting of her husband’s chastisement and corrective action.
Da had been right. Quinn had taken off his belt without hesitation and after warming her up with his hand, he fired her up with his leather.
Cheyenne snuggled into Quinn’s kisses and sweet affirmation of his love.
There was something about the warmth of leather.
She loved it, but not with the intensity of today.
He wasn’t too hard on her, but she would definitely notice tomorrow.
“Quinn, you already had everything set up. This wasn’t like Liam and Jocelyn.
I’m not Jocelyn. I didn’t have all of these loose ends with a quickly approaching deadline to complete everything.
Honey, I truly had nothing to do but maintain the few big accounts that I have kept.
And bored. I was bored and saw no reason to waste my time waiting on you to do what I could do already.
We can start this part of our life right now. I loved setting everything up for us.”
“And so why couldn’t you have called me and discuss this issue, to allow for my possible agreement before you decided to do this on your own? It would have kept you out of trouble.”
Cheyenne smiled wickedly and said, “Maybe I like repercussions?”
Quinn reached over and kissed his bride of just over two months.
“I’m quite positive you do, Mrs. O’Connor.
It’s becoming more obvious to me that I may have to look at other means of punishment.
You make me think you’re beginning to like the spankings a bit too much these days,” answered Quinn with an equally wicked smile.
“I think I need to pull out some toys that your bottom doesn’t enjoy as much, hmm? ”
Cheyenne smiled and then sobered a bit and said with a pout, “No thanks. I can assure you I in no way enjoyed this. When you aren’t happy with me, your contact with my rear end is a never an enjoyable thing.
I don’t want you to be upset with me and I don’t do thing so you are.
I don’t top for that end result, I promise. ”
Later that week, Cheyenne decided to pick up the threads of the conversation started over the weekend.
“So, I agree and I get that you’re the head of the household.
I don’t care, but, Quinn, when do I get to be the boss?
We discussed that my business was my business, except when it violates our house boundaries.
I agreed not to top from the bottom.” Cheyenne grinned and looked over at Quinn, “Unless it’s fun.
” She received a playful swat on the thigh in response.
“The minute we have children, piscín, you can be the boss.”
“You mean in line after you, again. But what about with us, when do I get to make the decisions.”
“As soon as the decisions you make don’t get you in trouble.” Cheyenne expressed her frustration, and Quinn decided to change tactics to explain.
“Mo ghrá lómhara, my precious love, you make many of the choices for us already by your needs and wants made known to me, and my desire to make you happy. But no topping from the bottom, that’s what you want to do but I won’t let you.” Quinlan reached over to kiss his wife with a smile.
“Yes, but if I were making the decisions, I shouldn’t be able to get in trouble.”
“Except it doesn’t work like that because as the head of this household, it’s my job and my privilege to make sure we have all of our needs met.
I work hard to make sure your safety is guaranteed, and I need to be responsible for whatever happens in our lives, to get us through it.
I know you think you’ve done well for yourself until I came along but, Cheyenne, you were Daddy’s little girl until that intervening year between his passing and our meeting.
You’re used to being protected, and taken care of, but you’re also used to having free rein when you want.
You know that isn’t how I operate.”
Cheyenne answered with a wiggle and a dissatisfied sniff.
“I have never operated that way and don’t intend to start.
This isn’t news to you. Besides, haven’t you figured out yet that, in essence, you’re the boss because I do everything based on your needs or ours together?
However, that will never mean that you can do what you want, whenever you want.
What it does mean is that all your needs and most of your wants are taken care of by me.
Your ability to deal with this is completely based on how much you trust me to take care of you. ”
“Fine but on the wants you don’t handle, it should be okay if I find a way to do what I can to meet my own needs.”
“You mean without me knowing, beag amháin? Because I assure you that if I didn’t fulfill one of your desires purposely it was because it shouldn’t be filled.”
“Maybe.”
“You go right ahead, so long, mo mhuirnín, darling, as you’re ready to pay the piper when I do find out.”
“If you find out you mean.”
“No, sweetheart, I mean when. Now kiss me so that I can get on with my lunch and get back to work.”
Cheyenne leaned over to kiss her husband, grabbed her coffee and took off to the second bedroom they used for an office until moving onto the ranch in a couple of months.
She sighed, for she knew that when they moved out to the ranch, she would not see him for lunches anymore and while some days that would be good as she was busy, most days she would miss his presence and the way he made everything feel right with the world.
Cheyenne was aware that asking to be the boss was just playing around, but she did wonder how well she would be able to deal with a man who would step in and take control at any inclination of their life going off track.
Even when things were going well, she found him reining her in from going too far afield, and that was on a good day.
How did her sisters-in-law deal with these men?
Cheyenne knew that it was a conversation started before, and some of the same questions she’d voiced then she now revisited because she had more information.
Maybe the women just gazed on their absolute beauty, and the rest didn’t matter because belonging to an O’Connor man beat running your own life alone any day... usually.