Chapter 17
BERTRAM
Bertram paced back and forth outside the infirmary as each of his team of warriors was doctored and released. He had already self-healed most of his injuries and only had a faint ache in his upper back.
She had scared the shit out of him. It was a good thing she passed out, giving him a while to think.
He didn’t want to spank her while he was heated.
He checked on the rest of the lodge and was pleased Coral had kept it safe from greedy looters this time.
Of course, it had also helped that Stepmother had made an early appearance to make sure things ran smoothly while they had been gone.
Jake came out and took his hand into his. “Thank you.” His eyes held Bertram’s for a long moment, telling him more than words ever could. “If she’ll have you, I give you my blessing.” He handed him a small bag of coins and nodded at him solemnly.
“I don’t need your money, Jake.” He tried to press it back into the younger man’s palm, but he shook his head.
“It’s tradition.” He shrugged. “Unless you prefer a pig?”
He felt the laugh bubble from him, the first moment of levity he’d had all day. “All right, all right. Thank you for this.” He looked at the medical office’s closed door, where Jillian rested. “All of this.”
“Take care of her, Wolfe,” Jake said and walked down the hall.
Bertram leaned his head against the door of the infirmary, breathing her scent, filling himself with love.
What if he hadn’t found her in time? He shuddered at the thought.
And what had truly driven her away? It couldn’t have just been Redd’s words.
No, damn it, it was his fault. His attempts at protecting her had only hurt her. And the truth was he loved her.
He thought about the first time he saw her, defiantly trying to fend off attacking wolves.
He thought about the way her round, ass wiggled and glowed the perfect shade of red when he took her over his knee.
He thought about the intensity of her emotions and her desire and the way she flushed with pleasure when he stroked and spanked her.
All of these made up the parts of one truly amazing woman.
The woman he loved and who would become his mate.
If she agreed. Would she turn from him in repulsion and fear?
He let out a deep sigh and knocked on the door. It was time to find out.
When he entered the small medical room, he saw Jillian half lying, half sitting, while his little lovingly brushed Jillian’s long brown hair. They stopped talking and focused their wide eyes on him.
“Ladies.” He kept his expression neutral. “Are you both all right?”
“Yes, sir,” Jillian said.
“Yes, Daddy,” Redd said.
“Any injuries?”
“Nope, Doc says we are both fine,” Redd offered. “Jillian was just shaken up from her ordeal. So he said we could hang here until she felt better. We’ve, um, talked about a lot of stuff.” She glanced up nervously at him.
“And?” He sat down on the doctor’s stool in front of them.
“Well, I may have been a little jealous about her presence.” Redd chewed her fingernail and shifted uneasily.
“A little?” He had to fight hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Jillian nervously giggled, but when he turned his full gaze on her, she gulped and averted her eyes.
“What on earth possessed you to run off like that?” he asked Jillian and unclenched his fists, trying not to scare her with the anger that built in him.
“I saw you spanking a maid, and when you took her in the room, I thought you were going to have sex with her.” The tears shone in her pained emerald eyes.
He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “I don’t have sexual relations with any of my workers, Jillian.”
“I know. Redd explained everything to me.”
“I do, however, spank when a submissive needs a partner or needs to be reminded of her job. I don’t hold back on punishments. You both know that.”
He watched both women squirm uneasily under his gaze.
“Well, it made sense at the time!” Jillian’s eyes flashed at him angrily. “You played with me last night, and then… left! With no explanation! How do you think I felt?”
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you, or worse, hurt you. Do you understand what I am? My wolf wants you as his mate. I was having a hard time controlling him and didn't want to mark you without your consent. ”
She nodded, and he decided to let it go this once. “Redd explained it all to me. I should have guessed after some of the stuff Cindy and Stepmother said, but honestly, it sounded like something so fantastic, I couldn’t believe it.”
“Are you okay with this, knowing what I am?”
“It doesn’t change the man you are, the man I love.” She smiled tentatively and looked into his eyes.
He was so overjoyed, he wanted to howl and do a cartwheel. “I love you too.” He leaned in and took her sweet lips into his own and let out a small growl.
Then he knelt down in front of them and squeezed both their hands. “I love both of you, and unless you say otherwise, I have no intention of letting either of you go. Ever.” He tightened his grip and his eyes darkened, causing them both to gasp.
He stroked Redd’s cheek. “You are my little, the apple of my eye. There will never be another like you. Hot tempered, strong, powerful, compassionate, brave. My desire is to love you for as long as you want me to be in your life. I will protect you from your demons and from yourself. I will hold you when you have nightmares. I will paddle your bottom to a new shade of red every time you do something that does not exemplify the good woman you are. You are good and kind. And I love you.”
Redd’s tears fell fast, and he rubbed them away with his sleeve. “Someday, Little Redd, a man will come for you. If he is truly the man that can give you what you need and want, then I will give your hand to him. Until that point, I’ll kill everyone that doesn’t measure up.”
She giggled at his last announcement.
He turned to Jillian next and kissed her hand.
“Jillian, you are the sexiest woman I have ever laid eyes upon. You are strong, confident, beautiful, smart, and your submission is the greatest gift you could ever give me. My wolf side wants you as my mate. My human side wants you as my forever lover, my partner, the woman who will bear my children, the woman who will submit to me because she wants to. I love you, sweet woman, and want you in my life.”
“Can you both agree to these terms, and agree to stop this jealous fight over who gets my heart? You both have it, in different ways.”
They both tearfully voiced their agreement and hugged him, apologizing again for the drama of the past few days.
“So, the doctor has examined you both and deemed you clear for all activities?”
They both seemed to know what he implied. Were they ready to be punished?
“Yes, sir,” they said.
“All right. Redd, I’ll meet you in your room in fifteen minutes. Be ready for me.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She nodded and raced to his arms.
He hugged her tightly and swatted her on the back of her leggings as she walked out the door. “See you in a few.”
He watched his little girl leave and then turned to Jillian. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He took her cheek into his hand and stroked it.
“Yes. I’m sorry I worried you all.” She hung her head sadly.
“I’m not letting you go again. I will be in charge of this relationship and will spank your little bottom when you disobey me or whenever I feel you need it.
But I will also teach you about pleasure and play and love you more than you have ever been loved.
” He held his breath and waited for her to answer.
“I accept your conditions, Master Wolfe, with one condition of my own.” Her eyes danced mischievously. “I want to spank you again.”
“Just for play, little girl.” He growled at her giggle.
“And I get to choose your outfit.” He waggled his eyes playfully.
“I have a few things in mind that will look perfect on you. Especially with two sets of sweet pink cheeks.” He nodded at her blush.
He would never take for granted how beautiful she looked when she was embarrassed.
“We still need to discuss your actions today. Are you able to accept your punishment, or do you need some more time to recover?”
“I want to get it over with, please.”
“Okay. I will come to your room in an hour. I want you kneeling in front of the bed, wearing only your panties and nightgown. I have a master key and can get in. I’m going to go take care of my naughty little and then get a few things prepared for you.”
“Bertram?” Her voice sounded so sweet and soft. “Please don’t go too hard on her. I wouldn’t have wanted to share you either, if I had been in her shoes. I won’t share you with another lover.” Her eyes flashed.
“I understand.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll take it into consideration. For right now, worry about your own ass.” He winked and left.
BERTRAM
He went back to his room, and grabbed the heating pad from his medicine kit. Then he stopped in the kitchen and took Mrs. Hubber, the cook, aside. “Please send a bowl of water and prepared ginger root to Ms. Hills’ room in one hour. Leave it outside her room, being discreet of course.”
The elderly woman nodded and curtsied as a small amount of pink tinged her cheeks, “Yes, sir.”
“Make sure it’s not too fresh. Maybe a week or two old. Thank you.” He strode purposefully from the kitchen toward Redd’s room.
He understood her jealousy. After all, she was an only child.
But her actions were unacceptable. Her slayer duties meant she was compassionate and protected others.
What she had done today had not protected Jillian’s emotions.
And he knew she would be conflicted and hurt over her transgression.
While she was a great and powerful slayer, the little girl in her needed love, nurturing, and forgiveness.
It was time for him to help her release her demons. He knocked three times and kept his face neutral when she opened the door. His heart went out to her. She looked so sad and vulnerable.
He kicked the door shut behind him and grabbed her into his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest. After a few minutes of cuddling, he stroked her head and kissed her hair. “All right, Little Redd, what do you need, short and fast or long and paced out?”
She looked at him with tear filled eyes and sniffled. “I need something longer, please. I feel horrible.”
“All right.” He placed her on her feet. “Bend over the bed. We’re going to do something we haven’t done before.” He watched her eyes widen and dilate as she trembled and quickly obeyed. He pulled her pants down and gave her a light pat on her panties. “Okay, don’t move.”
He retrieved the small tube of capsaicin from the drawer of her side table. It was still unopened and had been used as a threat on more than one occasion.
She fisted the comforter and her body shook as he pulled her underwear down to her thighs.
He grabbed the tube of capsaicin and squeezed some into the palm of his hand.
He wouldn’t need much. He carefully massaged into every inch of her bare bottom and thighs, being careful to stay away from her feminine parts, then pulled her panties back over her bottom and gave her a small swat.
“That’s it?” she murmured from the pillows where she had buried her head.
He chuckled. “There’s more.” He plugged in the heating pad and turned it to medium heat and placed it on top of her bottom.
“The heat will build quickly with the heating pad on. And then it will remain for several hours. Don’t try to wash it off,” he warned.
“It will only make it worse. Stay there for a few minutes.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She leaned back into the bed and reached for Mr. McBeakington.
He grabbed a handful of papers and a few pencils and placed them on the small desk in the corner. It didn’t take long before she was squirming and groaning into the comforter.
“Heat building?” He held in the chuckle, not wanting to seem mean.
“Ohhh, yes, Daddy. Is it going to get worse?”
“It will keep building, yes. And then it will not subside for a good long while. You’re stuck with a hot bottom for the rest of the evening, little one.”
She squirmed some more and choked on another groan. “Okay, Daddy.”
After a few minutes of watching her shift her feet and clench the bedding, he decided she’d had enough of the heating pad.
He took it off, unplugged it, and gave her a few small slaps to her backside.
“Come on, over to the corner with you.” He pulled her to stand, led her to the desk, and sat her down on the hardback chair, watching her try to hide the wince.
“Ow.”
“Here are paper and pencils. You will write a 1,000 word apology to Jillian and everyone involved, including yourself.” He tapped her head with the pencil.
“Start with something like, ‘I am a good woman who deserves to be loved.’ Then I want you to list out your good qualities and how you can be proactive about your feelings in the future. You are a blessing to many. Put it in writing. All of it.”
She picked up the pencil and frowned. “Can’t I use a pen?”
“Naughty little girls being punished use pencils, number two, fully sharpened, with erasers. If you make a mistake, erase it. Make it look neat and tidy. Or I will paddle your little bottom and make you rewrite it. Understand?”
“Y-yes, Daddy.” The look of submission on her face nearly melted his heart. She felt safe. He could tell. So he didn’t feel too badly about his harsh punishment.
He kissed her on the forehead. “Such a good little girl. I’m proud of you and know you will put your best effort into it. I have a few more things to take care of, and then I will check on you in a while when I come to get you for dinner.”
“Jillian.” It wasn’t a question. And he sensed no animosity in her statement.
“Yes. Are you alright with this arrangement?”
“Yes, Daddy. It’s really okay. She’ll be a good mate for you.” She smiled and hugged him around his neck.
“Thanks for your blessing. Okay, get to work. I’ll see you at dinner.”