Chapter Four #2
She did not answer him, struggling to remove herself from his lap. He spanked her again and her resistance waned.
“Answer me. Do you understand?”
She was breathing heavily against his thighs; he could feel her. “Beat me if you must, Sir Kirk, but I will never surrender to your tyranny. Especially when I speak the truth!”
He swatted her again, not quite as hard, for her buttocks were becoming terribly red. Tender, white, heart-shaped buttocks he would have much rather sank his teeth into than strike with his hand.
“Correct or no, you will listen to me and you will obey.” He suddenly put her skirts down, flipping her onto her back.
Cradling her as if she was a very large infant, he wagged a grim finger in her face.
“We will not have this conversation again. I spanked you in punishment for your actions, but hear me now as I explain the rules you will live by here at Anchorsholme. There will be no more impolite behavior, no more disobedience. You will present the model of a perfect lady or you will answer to me as you just have. Is this clear?”
Mara’s eyes were wide, staring into orbs of cold steel.
He was holding her tightly and had she not been so unbalanced, she might have allowed herself to experience the sensation.
But she could only gaze back at him, into the face that Micheline had called handsome.
And she suddenly found herself willing to admit, for the very first time, that Micheline had been right. He was handsome.
“It… it is,” she heard herself whisper, hardly believing that she was giving in so easily. But she couldn’t seem to control her submission, a submission accompanied by a weakening warmth. The longer he glared at her, the more powerful the warmth became.
“Good.” He, too, could hardly believe she had surrendered as easily as she had. In fact, it was too good to believe. “If I need to pound out another rhythm on your buttocks to underscore my point, then I shall be happy to do so.”
Mara shook her head weakly, unable to tear herself away from his incredible eyes. Beautiful eyes, she found herself thinking. Beautiful eyes of a beautiful, powerful man who wasn’t intimidated by her in the least. And mayhap that was a good thing.
“No need, my lord.” Her voice was sweet, faint, as he had once remembered thinking on the day she had nearly thrown herself from the window. “I understand perfectly, although I cannot guarantee the lesson will be immediately.”
He cocked an eyebrow, his thoughts turning from spanking her buttocks to the wonderful warmth of her in his arms. “What does this mean?”
Mara swallowed, realizing his grip on her had tightened. As much as the new sensation enticed her, it was also frightening. Frightening that a man she had sworn to hate could create such havoc in her naive, stubborn mind.
“Would you mind letting me stand?” she asked.
He obliged, aware that he liked her much better in his arms. Mara straightened her surcoat before fixing him in the eye, far calmer than she had been when they had entered the deserted corridor.
“It means that old habits die hard,” she said frankly. “I am used to speaking my mind, Sir Kirk, and….”
“Kirk.”
“Beg pardon, my lord?”
“You will call me simply Kirk,” he said without a hint of warmth. “Now continue.”
Mara looked strangely at him but did as he asked. “I… very well, if you insist. As I said, I am used to speaking my mind and it will be quite difficult for me to rein my natural actions.”
“Unbridled responses are not natural. They are the result of a complete lack of discipline. Did not your father maintain any control over you whatsoever?”
Mara looked away from him, studying the walls, the floor. “Nay,” she said. “He was too busy losing money. Or drunk. And mother was sick most of the time, too ill to deal with me.”
Kirk’s hard stance softened as he watched her emotional vulnerability come through yet again. Last night in the inn had been only a foretaste.
“So you and Micheline took care of each other,” he finished quietly. “And from what I have seen of your sister, she is hardly able to take a stand against you.”
Mara nodded, leaning against the opposite wall.
“We have always taken care of one another because no one else could.” She fixed him in the eye, her lovely face soft with emotion.
“That is why I cannot allow her to marry a man who would treat her with such disrespect. Can’t you understand that I must protect her? ”
Kirk sighed, resting against the wall. “You do not have a choice, love. This betrothal contract has nothing to do with you.”
Mara heard the affectionate term, unsure how to react. A name that seemed to intensify the odd, quivering warmth she was already experiencing.
“I realize that, but it does not discourage my determination,” she replied, her heart leaping strangely against her ribcage.
“Misha is… delicate. She cannot take care of herself as I am able. And I refuse to allow this… I mean, Lord Edmund to humiliate her further. She’s known enough degradation in her time. ”
Kirk crossed his muscular arms, his expression curious. “What does this mean? How else has your sister met with humiliation?”
For the first time since he had known her, Mara seemed to falter. She refused to look at him as she spoke.
“Father… he used Misha to support his gambling habit by forcing her to dance and sing for coin.” She kicked distractedly at the stone.
“That is why she did not want to sleep in an inn last night. Father used to take her into taverns to entertain the soldiers while he left me on the street, pretending to be an orphan. Somehow I always managed to make more money begging than Misha did with her talents, which only added to her shame.”
He did not reply. When Mara finally looked up from her feet, she was surprised to note his expression harsh. She cocked her head curiously, gazing into eyes as cold as steel.
“Why do you look like that?”
Kirk seemed to stare at her a long, long time. “Because your father was a cruel man. And his cruelty continues as he forces his eldest to wed in order to settle a gambling debt.”
Mara nodded, moving closer to him. When he wasn’t taunting or threatening her, he was quite approachable.
“Now you see why I cannot permit her to wed a man who will only continue to humiliate her. Our parents died within weeks of each other two years ago and since that time, we’ve known our only measure of peace.
Now the cycle of shame threatens all over again. ”
She was standing beside the stone seat, level with his eyes. He found himself devouring every contour of her face. “I will speak to Lord Edmund. Have no doubt that he will be considerate of your sister’s feelings when I explain the situation.”
Mara frowned. “If he wasn’t considerate of her feelings the moment he met her, why should your explanation make any difference?”
“Because Edmund trusts me.”
“And based on the word of his servant, he is supposed to amend his attitude?”
This time, Kirk frowned. “I am not his servant.”
Mara sat down on the edge of the seat, yelping when her sore bum touched the cold surface. Leaping up, she rubbed her backside as she spoke. “If you are not his servant, then what are you?”